


An Assassin's Creed

by Ricecakes123



Category: Black Widow (Movie 2020), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, F/F, Fluff, Im certain theres a plot, Kissing, LGBTQ Female Character, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Sex, Making Out, Natasha Romanov Needs a Hug, Oral Sex, Sexuality Crisis, The Strong Must Protect the Sweet, Tried to be a slowburn, Vaginal Fingering, Wet Dream, some smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:40:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 39,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23165851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ricecakes123/pseuds/Ricecakes123
Summary: After saving the life of Eden Clarke after she gets into a car accident caused by a drunk driver, Natasha makes it her mission to watch and protect her. Over time, she grows closer to her than she ever could've imagined. Natasha opens up to Eden in a way that she never had before with anyone, not even Clint, but she soon questions what exactly she is feeling for Eden.
Relationships: Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov, Natasha Romanov (Marvel)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

Natasha walked down the dark quiet New York street, slumping just a little from exhaustion. Working out at the Tower, while great and beneficial, wasn’t at all convenient. Steve tried to convince her to move closer to the Tower—actually, what he said was that she should move _into _the Tower—but she couldn’t find a place that she liked and if she had to live with the so-called heroes…so help them.

Three more blocks. She was almost there, but it certainly didn’t feel like it. She grimaced as her legs ached with each she took; perhaps she overdid it in training today. Stupid Sam. She never should’ve fallen for his goading, but God he was annoying! Natasha sighed as she rounded the corner and wiped her brow. Two more blocks. The end of the block seemed so far away, and the thought made her want scream…or shoot something…or do something.

A horn blares loudly from somewhere to her left, followed by the sickening and painful crash of metal, sending the ex-assassin diving behind a mailbox drawing her gun as she entered defensive mode. She waited a moment before peeking at the scene, cursing under her breath at the sight before her. A silver sedan laid on its side in the middle of an empty intersection, crushed and broken; pieces of metal and glass and God knows what else littered and scattered around the surrounding area.

“Der'mo…” Natasha cursed as she leapt from behind the mailbox and sprinted over to the capsized car. She looked into the cracked windshield and her breath hitched as her eyes connected with the unconscious driver. From the windshield, the Russian redhead assessed that the young woman had a large gash on her forehead leading down to right by her ear, blood stained her white blouse, and her left arm was bent at a weird angle.

Natasha kicked at the windshield, sending more broken glass into the interior of the car and onto the young woman. She crawled in pulled out a small knife from her belt, cut through the seatbelt, and tried to wiggle her free to the best of her ability, trying hard to not cause any more harm to her. Dragging her to the sidewalk, Natasha pulled out her phone and dialed 911. She explained to the dispatcher what happened and relayed the woman’s visible injuries, and after she ended the call, she waited for the ambulance with her, holding her in her arms and pressing down on her wounded side to stop the bleeding.

“Wh-what…w-where…” she mumbled as she opened her eyes and blinked quickly, trying to remain conscious. Her breathing quickened as her panic set in, causing fresh blood to flow from her wounds. A scream built up in her throat, but Natasha pressed a finger to her lips, stopping it from escaping.

“Don’t talk, you’ll only make things worse. The ambulance will be here soon. It’s okay, you’ll be alright,” Natasha soothed her. The woman closed her eyes and laid her head back against Natasha’s arm and rested a hand against the sleeve of her shirt.

The deafening siren of the ambulance grew louder and louder as it rounded a corner and parked in the intersection across from the wreckage. Natasha waved the paramedics over and gently shook the woman awake.

“Was there anyone else in the car with you?” she asked as the woman opened her grey eyes. She sloppily shook her head before she collapsed back into her hold. “Hey, come on. Stay with me. Stay awake. Hey, what’s your name?”

“Eden…Clarke.”

“Okay Eden, stay with me,” Natasha said shaking her again to keep her awake. The paramedics came over with a stretcher and lifted her onto it and the ambulance. Natasha followed after them and took a seat on the bench, taking Eden’s hand in hers.

As the ambulance drove off towards the hospital, the paramedics filtered around the small interior, stitching and patching up her wounds and doing things to keep Eden conscious.

“Am I…going to die?” Eden asked, her voice quiet and tired. Natasha leaned forward more into Eden’s line of vision, and mindlessly caressed her hand with her thumb.

“You’re gonna be just fine,” Natasha said, giving her a small smile. Eden returned the smile with one of her own and seemed to relax more into the stretcher. “Where are you from, Eden? I noticed that your license plate says you’re from Rhode Island.”

“I just moved here a few weeks ago from Rhode Island. I was waiting for a new plate,” she winced when the ambulance ran over a pothole and groaned, “guess it’s pointless now.”

“At least you’re alive…”

“You’re right.” She leaned her head back down and sighed, closing her eyes to block out the pain. They arrived at the hospital soon after that, and the paramedics quickly brought Eden into an empty room where doctors and nurses began their examination of her wounds. Natasha took a seat in the waiting room and pulled out her phone. Looking at the time, she groaned. How could it be after one in the morning?


	2. Chapter 2

Natasha was jolted awake by a small hand shaking her shoulder. She sat up in the small hospital waiting room seats, winced at the pain that flared in her back and neck, and rubbed her sleepy face with her hands. She eyed the nurse and groaned.

“What time is it?” she asked, stretching her back and sighing a bit at the satisfying cracks.

“It’s after eight,” the nurse replied, holding out a small paper cup. Natasha mumbled a thank you, took the cup, and downed the water inside. “She’s been asking for you.”

Natasha nodded and stood up, following the nurse down the hall. They both stopped outside of Eden’s room, and with a reassuring nod, the redhead assassin opened the door. Her green eyes connected with Eden’s grey ones, and she walked over to the side of her bed, sitting in the chair beside it. Eden looked over at her smiled a bit as she stretched as best, she could despite her injuries. A large white bandage was wrapped around her head and covered her right ear, a thick bandage was taped to her side and Natasha could see the blood pooling under it, and her left arm was stuck in a sling.

“How are you feeling?” Natasha asked, feeling awkward and avoiding Eden’s eyes.

Eden shrugged and chuckled. “I’ve been better. So…how are you?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Well…no offense, but you look like crap. Have you been here all night?”

“Yeah, I didn’t want to leave until I knew you were okay.” Nervousness filled Natasha’s being, but she refused to let it show. The Red Room taught her that.

_“Never let the world see who you truly are. The world is a terrible place that will work to ruin you. It will take the things about you and use them against you. Harden yourself, protect yourself, hurt first and the world can’t hurt you.”_

“Well that’s sweet,” Eden said, breaking into a yawn. “Sorry about that.”

“Did you not sleep?”

“No, I did, it’s just hard to get comfortable in these beds. Especially with the pain.”

“How is the pain?”

“Right now? Manageable. They gave some morphine right before you came in.” She smiled and started to laugh, snorting and wheezing after a few seconds.

“So…why did you want to see me?” Natasha asked, leaning back in the chair. Eden sat up in the bed and looked over at Natasha, suddenly serious.

“You saved my life—”

“That’s not true. You would’ve been fine…”

“No. One of the nurses told me that had no one been there and if I stayed inside that car, I would’ve died. And I can’t thank you enough. You saved my life, and I don’t even know your name.”

“It’s Natalie. And you’re Eden.”

“Yeah,” Eden chuckled and held out her hand. “Thank you, Natasha, and it’s nice to meet you.” Natasha smiled and took Eden’s giving it a gentle shake.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Eden. And don’t worry about it. I’m just glad I was there.”

Natasha sat with Eden for most of the day, talking and getting to know the woman whose life she saved better. Little did either of them know, they both thoroughly enjoyed the other woman’s company, and in a way, Natasha felt something that she hadn’t felt in a while. Ever since she left the Red Room, it was hard for Natasha to make room for other people in her life. Of course, she had the Avengers which she considered her friends and even her family, but they didn’t become that way overnight. In fact, if she could remember right, it was mostly because of Steve that everyone stayed connected and Sam and Tony that engaged everyone in fun activities.

She was sure that if she didn’t have them, she probably wouldn’t have gotten close to anyone. Well, perhaps Clint. After all, he was the first one to get through to her. Then Coulson and then Maria and then Fury…you know what, maybe she would’ve been just fine without the Avengers.

The rest of the day past quickly, to Natasha’s disappointment, and before long, Eden started getting tired which was Natasha’s cue to leave. The redhead stood up from her seat, gave Eden a small smile, and walked towards the door.

“Hey, wait,” Eden said, reaching for Natasha even though she was already at the door. Natasha turned around, looking back into Eden’s soft grey eyes. “Is it too much to ask if you could come back tomorrow? It’s just…I just moved here and don’t have a lot of people that I can call that can come and—”

“You want me to come back?” Natasha asked incredulously, not quite believing that this woman that she just met would want to see her again. Eden smiled and nodded her head.

“Yeah…I enjoyed our time today, and I was kinda hoping to do this again. If you got stuff to do or just don’t want to, that’s fine, I mean you don’t have to—”

“I’m…not doing anything tomorrow. If you want me to come back…I will.”

Eden smiled and waved Natasha over to her. Grasping her phone, she unlocked it and held it out to Natasha. “Can I get your number?”

Natasha hesitantly accepted Eden’s phone and typed in her number, not used to this kind of attention. Giving her phone back, Natasha flashed Eden a smile, one she usually used when she was feeling brave, and left the hospital to go back to her apartment.


	3. Chapter 3

“So how are you feeling today?” Natasha asked into her phone as she held it pressed against her ear with her shoulder, unwrapping and placing a hot pocket into her microwave. She hopped up onto the island counter watching the timer count down and began chewing on her nails as she waited for Eden to respond.

_“Ah you know, the usual. I barely feel my arm anymore, it’s more of a nuisance, but my side and head still hurt. Particularly my side. It hurts whenever I move or do anything…my head only hurts when I brush my hand against it.” _Eden huffed into the phone, causing the redhead assassin to chuckle dryly and smile into the phone. When the microwaved beeped, she jumped down, grabbed her hot meal, and walked back over to the island, hopping back up on the counter. _“How are you? How was your workout? Today was your gym day, right? God, I miss going to the gym…”_

Natasha chuckled and shook her head. For the past two weeks, Natasha spent every spare minute she had with Eden, helping her do things for her while she was recovering and consequentially becoming her friend and keeping her company.

“It was alright, and honestly you’re not missing anything.” She paused a second and took a bite. “It’s more therapy at this point; it’s not fun. It’s like work.”

_“Still. Must be better than what you actually do for a living. At the very least it’s better than sitting at home all day bored out of my mind.”_

“Well, maybe if you went for that walk everyday like I suggested, maybe you wouldn’t be so bored,” Natasha quipped as she took another bite and rolled her eyes. A smirk worked its way onto her face, and it stretched further when she heard Eden huff a big sigh.

_“You know what, Nat…”_

“What?”

Eden was quiet for a second, and when she answered back, her voice erupted in loud surprise. _“You know what I just realized?”_

“What?”

_“I just realized that I don’t know your last name. Like obviously you’re not just Natalie; you’re Natalie Something Someone. God, it’s like you’re not even real, like I made you up or something. Can you tell me your name? Would that be weird? Am I crossing a line or something? —”_

“Are you high or something?” Natasha asked, swallowing a giggle. She was reluctant to give out all of her information to this woman who—despite their closeness—was still a relative stranger, but a large enough part of her wanted to change how she viewed people. It was a lonely existence to look at people through the eyes of a spy.

_“Perhaps…I might’ve taken too many pain relievers…”_

“It’s Rushman.”

_“What is?”_

“My name: Natalie Rushman.”

_“Oh. That’s pretty. So…what’re you up to right now?”_

“Nothing much. Just eating my lunch/dinner.” She finished her hot pocket and licked the stray sauce off her fingers. Getting off the counter, she grabbed her plate and placed it in the sink, grimacing at how full it was getting. She mentally groaned at the thought of having to eventually man up and do the dishes.

_“I hope it was something healthy. After all you spent most of the day at the gym; wouldn’t want to undo all of that progress…”_

“Are you calling me fat?” Natasha asked, with a humorous smirk and feigning hurt.

_“No—”_

“Are you fat-shaming me?” Natasha continued, trying hard to burst out laughing at the panic in Eden’s voice.

_“No Natalie! I’m not fat-shaming you! I just…I want…I—”_

And that was it. Natasha couldn’t keep it anymore and erupted in a fit of obnoxious laughter. She heard Eden sigh on the other end of the phone and that only fueled her laughter.

_“I’m glad you’re having fun. Well, while you’re laughing at your little joke, I’m gonna hang up—”_

“No, please don’t,” Natasha said as she forced herself to calm down, ignoring her hiccups. “I’m sorry, okay, but I couldn’t resist. It was just too easy.”

_“Yeah, whatever.”_

“Oh, come on. It was funny.”

_“Whatever you say, Nat.”_ She could practically hear the shrug.

“I said I was sorry,” Natasha said with a slight giggle. She knew any minute now, Eden was going to break, she could hear it in hear voice. She just needed to remain one step ahead of her. Just like in training.

With a big sigh, and just how she expected, Eden relented. _“Fine, whatever. God, you’re so annoying.”_

Natasha smiled at the humor in the woman’s voice and imagined her grey eyes rolling in playful annoyance.

_“Hey so are you doing anything tomorrow?” _Eden asked sounding more nervous than her usual confident self.

“Depends. Why are you asking?” Natasha opened her fridge and took out a juice pouch. She usually kept them for the rare occasions when Clint would drop his kids off at her apartment, but today she was feeling like she was in the mood for some fruit punch.

_“Well, my brother is coming into town tonight and coming over tomorrow to help me finish moving in, and well…for lack of a better term, he’s an asshole. And I heard through it the grapevine that he’s bringing his fiancé who is an even bigger asshole, plus we think she’s a gold digger—”_

“And you need me for what…?”

_“Kinda like a buffer, I guess? Please Nat? I can guarantee that they’ll team up and spend the whole time making my injuries feel like they were my fault, and I’m not going to be able to get them to shut up. Please Nat? Please can you come? I swear if I have to deal with my asshole brother by myself, I’ll either end up killing him or myself.”_

Natasha laughed and took another sip of her juice.

_“I’m serious, Nat…”_

“Oh, I’m aware.” She chuckled when she heard Eden’s exasperated sigh and could just picture her friend dropping her head in defeat. Feeling a bit sorry for the grief she was causing her friend, Natasha gave a small sigh of her own, and replied, “If you need me to be with you tomorrow, then I’ll be there. But I won’t kill your brother or his fiancé for you, understand? You’ll have to do that yourself.”

_“I hear ya loud and clear. Thanks Nat, you’re a life-saver.”_ Natasha smiled at the definite smile spread across Eden’s face. _“I’ll text you my address and the time. Thanks again, Nat. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”_

“No problem, Eden. I’ll see you tomorrow.” The two hung up and Natasha placed her phone face down on the counter beside her and took a deep breath. She hopped off the counter and stretched her back. Letting out a guttural groan as she felt her muscles and bones stretch and crack, she walked in the direction of her bathroom, only stopping when her phone ringing cut through her empty apartment air.

Walking back to the counter, she picked up her phone and groaned when looking at the caller id. “What do you want, Sam?”

_“Do I have to want something just so I can call you?”_ the Falcon asked with a laugh. Natasha rolled her eyes and tried to suppress the groan that built up in her throat.

“Never stopped you before,” she muttered under her breath. “So, what’s up?”

_“Just calling to say hi…”_

“Sam…” Natasha’s patience was wearing thin, as it usually did when it came to the Falcon. Don’t be mistaken, Natasha liked him well enough and had great respect for him, but she couldn’t help that Sam very quickly got on her nerves.

_“Alright, fine. I get it, you’re not in the mood. Steve wanted to me to tell you that you need to suit up. We’ve got a mission at 1800 and you need to be at the Tower by liftoff at 1900.”_

Natasha hung her head and let out a big sigh. Of course, there was a mission to go on now. She couldn’t get one day where she didn’t have to go to the tower.

_“Nat? You still there?”_

“Yeah, I’m still here. Tell Steve I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She ran a hand through her hair and sighed again. “Do you have any idea how long this mission’s gonna be? I kinda have plans tomorrow…”

_“No idea. All I know is that Steve said something about some drug cartels in South America terrorizing some local village. Shouldn’t be too long.”_

“Okay,” Natasha said with a sigh. “Let me hop in the shower and I’ll be right over. Tell Rogers I won’t be long.”

_“Copy that,”_ Sam said, and Natasha could imagine the playful salute he gave with a goofy grin.

“Goodbye Sam,” Natasha said as she hung up and took the phone away from her ear. Sighing, she opened her messages and found Eden’s contact, saw the address to her apartment and the time she should be there, and a small pang of guilt shot through her. Reluctantly she typed out a message to Eden explaining her situation as best as she could without revealing the truth. She hoped Eden would understand and added that she would still try to come over, though she may be late.

While she waited for Eden to respond, she walked to her bedroom and gathered the things that she needed for her shower and entered the bathroom. The hot water burned her skin but also soothed her aching muscles. She hummed in content as the hot water cascaded through her hair and down her back, washing away the sweat and grime of her workout and helped her relax. As she was finishing up and drying off, her phone went off again.

_No worries, Nat. Don’t rush, I understand. Hope work doesn’t kill ya, babe ;) _

Natasha smiled and quickly got dressed, grabbing her holster and her guns and her keys, and left her apartment. She sprinted all the way to the Tower, and when she reached the front doors, she wondered why the walk home seemed so long a few weeks ago.

After showing the security guard her I.D., she walked to the elevator, nodding over to Maria who was walking with another agent. The ride was short, and when she reached the floor designated to the Avengers, she was met with Steve Rogers.

“Nice to see you, Romanoff.”

“You know I was just here, right?” she asked as she walked out of the elevator and past Rogers. Steve followed her as she walked into the kitchen, grabbed a glass and filled it with water, and then took a sip.

“Yeah unfortunately that’s how this job works. When there’s a call, we answer it. Night or day, we go—”

“Yeah, I know, Steve,” Natasha huffed, finishing her water. “Are we ready to go?”

“As soon as you are.”

“Alright. Let’s move out.”

○○○

The mission was by all accounts a success. Captain Rogers and his team took down the White Cobras—Brazil’s leading drug overlords and brought them to the authorities, and no one was hurt. Granted there were a few cuts and bruises, but all-in-all, everyone was fine. Natasha sat in the co-pilot’s seat of the Quinjet, staring at her phone. Clint Barton looked over at her a few times, watching her with curiosity—one of his fatal flaws—for a few minutes before he cleared his throat.

“You expecting a text from a hot guy or something?”

“Shut up and mind your business, Barton,” Natasha fired back, rolling her eyes but still staring at her phone. Right before they boarded, she sent a text to Eden letting her know that she had finished up and would be on her way, and now she was waiting for a response. She couldn’t deny that she was nervous. She kept overthinking, wondering if it was even okay for her to come over anymore considering that it was about two hours after the agreed upon time, and because she hadn’t known Eden for that long, it was hard to gauge how she felt about certain things.

“Alright, geez. No need to bite my head off,” Clint said as he settled in his seat, turning his eyes away from Natasha and raising his shoulders.

“I’m sorry, Clint,” Natasha said, hanging her head and turning the screen of her phone off. “I’m just tired, it’s been a long day and I haven’t been sleeping well.”

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Filling the slightly awkward air, Natasha’s phone rang with Eden’s ring tone, notifying her of a text, and Clint looked over at her phone and raised an eyebrow.

“Who’s Eden?”

“She’s nobody!” Natasha exclaimed as she stuffed her phone into her pocket after reading and smiling at her text. Again, Clint turned back to stare at the open evening sky. He took his hands off the controls and raised them defensively.

“Alright…listen, you know I think it’s cool that you got a girlfriend, I got nothing against that—”

“Jesus Clint, what? Eden isn’t my girlfriend. She’s just a friend…that happens to be a girl. But it’s strictly platonic.”

“Okay, fine. So, what’s Eden’s story? How’d you two meet? I’ll be honest, I didn’t think you had friends outside of the team. Didn’t even think you were capable of making friends…”

“Wow thanks, Clint.” Natasha relaxed back into her seat and rolled her eyes. Clint chuckled and shook his head.

“Come on, Nat, you know I have a point…”

“I know, but you didn’t have to phrase it like that. It’s not a crime to be cautious.”

“You’re right, but I was just surprised is all; I wasn’t meant to be a dig at you.” Clint shot Natasha a smile before looking back outside. “So, tell me about her. Is she someone from SHIELD?”

“No, she just moved here.” Natasha looked back down at her phone, avoiding Clint’s curious gaze and trying to ignore the growing heat in her face. Clint’s eyes widened and a large smile grew in place of his little grin.

“Ah! A civilian, huh? Interesting. How did Natasha Romanoff come into friendly terms with a civilian?”

“Clint, I’m not really comfortable talking about this—”

“Come on, Nat. I promise I’ll leave you alone if you tell me. Please? Pretty Please?” Clint begged, slightly pouting his lower lip and widening his eyes. Natasha chuckled and shook her head.

“You know the puppy dog pout doesn’t work on me, right? I had to build up an immunity to it when Lila was three. She kept using it on me get extra portions of ice cream.”

“That’s not what I’m doing…”

“Sure, Clint. Sure.”

“But seriously…I know you, Nat; you’re not very social. You barely hang out with the team on the very rare occasion when we have free time—”

“You don’t hang out with the team either…”

“Yeah, but I have a family that I need to be with and take care of,” Clint said rolling his eyes. “But really, how did you meet this chick?”

Natasha sighed. “I witnessed her get into a car accident while I was walking back to my apartment. After bringing her to the hospital, I kinda just hung around to make sure she was okay. I felt…responsible for her. Over the past two weeks we kinda just…clicked, I guess. It’s nothing too exciting.”

“I think it’s sweet, Nat. Is she okay?”

“Yeah, she’s fine; just a broken arm, a cut on her forehead, and a small puncture wound,” Natasha huffed. Clint nodded his head turned away from Natasha.

“That’s good.” There was silence between them for several minutes, during which Natasha closed her eyes and relaxed into her seat, hoping to grab at least a little nap before they landed, and she had to make her way over to Eden’s.


	4. Chapter 4

About an hour and a half later, Clint reached over and gently shook Nat’s arm, waking her up from her little uncomfortable nap. She looked over at him as she blinked the sleep from her eyes.

“Can you tell the team that we’re ten minutes from base?” Clint asked. Natasha nodded and got up from her seat. Walking to the back of the Quinjet, Steve’s head picked up when he saw her.

“Ten minutes,” Natasha said, and Steve nodded, getting up to rouse the rest of the team. Nat walked back to the cockpit and stood against the frame behind Clint’s chair.

They landed at the Tower soon after, and Natasha quickly left and ran to the room that she called hers, the room that Tony and Steve insisted that she keep just in case she ever needed to stay the night, and changed out of her signature black jumpsuit and into something more suitable for sitting at a friend’s apartment. As she was getting ready to leave the Tower and being her walk to Eden’s apartment, Clint’s voice stopped her.

“You heading to Eden’s?” he asked.

“Yeah. I’m already late and need to get going…”

“Come with me, I’ll give you a ride.” Natasha smiled and followed Clint out and to his car, hopping into the passenger seat, and gave him her address. As they drove, Natasha was grateful for Clint giving her a ride because it didn’t take long for them to get there and she just knew that she would’ve been extra late had she just walked. “There you are. You sure this is her?”

“Yeah, thanks Clint,” Natasha said as she got out of the car.

“No problem, Nat. Hey when you’re ready to leave, just give me a call and I’ll come get you.”

“Aren’t you heading home?”

“Nah, I’m gonna spend the night at the Tower.”

“Alright, will do.” Nat took a step away from the car, but a thought quickly appeared in her head and she stopped and turned back around. “Tell Laura and the kids I said hi.”

Clint chuckled and shifted the gear. “Will do. Remember, don’t forget to call me when you’re ready to go home.”

“Thanks again, Clint,” Natasha said as Clint drove away, honking his horn and waving as he left. Natasha climbed the steps and pressed the buzzer to Eden’s apartment on the wall beside the door.

_“Hello?” _Eden’s voice came through the speaker.

“Hey Eden, it’s Nat. I’m outside.”

_“Alright, I’ll buzz you in!”_ she exclaimed happily, and Natasha chuckled.

The door buzzed loudly, and the lock clicked as it unlocked. Natasha opened the door and walked in, taking the elevator up to Eden’s floor. She awkwardly stood outside her apartment, suddenly filled with a sense of nervousness that was foreign to her. Taking a long deep breath, she raised her hand and knocked twice before wiping her sweaty palms on her pants. Rapid footsteps slapped against the floor on the other side of the door and it swung open, revealing a very happy and excited Eden.

“You’re here!” she exclaimed, leaping into Natasha who reflexively opened her arms to catch her. Eden giggled and soon released Natasha, flashing her a big smile. Natasha chuckled at her and shook her head.

“Yeah, I said I would be,” Natasha replied. “I’m sorry for showing up now and I hope I’m not too late. There was a work emergency that I couldn’t get out of…”

“It’s no problem, I understand. You’re not that late. Honest to God, my brother got here about an hour before you. Apparently, he ran into the same kind of situation as you. Come on in.”

Eden led Natasha into her apartment where her eyes traveled to a portly middle-aged man with balding blonde hair and a slightly younger woman with similar blonde hair that was a couple shades lighter. The man wore glasses that were worn down by the tip of his chubby nose. At first glance, he seemed to be cleanshaven, but as Natasha studied him more, she could see the neglected stubble that grew around and under his chin. She also noticed his arm that was wrapped around the woman’s back, but the woman was trying to sit as far away from him as possible without anyone noticing. The man eyed Natasha curiously and the woman narrowed her eyes at her in a glare. The redhead tried her best to ignore her and stood by a chair across from the man.

“Make yourself at home,” Eden said as she started moving away to a hallway off the main room. “You want anything to eat or drink? Thomas brought over a pizza and a bottle of wine…”

“I could go for a slice,” Natasha said, and Eden smiled.

“Alright, cool. Tom, you want anything?”

“I’m fine,” the man—Tom—said and looked over at the woman beside him. “Do you want anything, sweetie?”

“I could go for another glass of wine,” she replied, holding out her glass and subtly shaking it. Natasha glanced over at Eden’s face and noticed her original smile morph into a fake one the minute she opened her mouth.

“Of course, Kylie,” Eden said, her voice dripping in faux niceness, and she reached out for her glass.

“I’ll help you,” Natasha said, following Eden down the hall and into her kitchen. Once in the security of Eden’s kitchen, her fake smile and attitude melted away and she let out a very audible groan and smacked her head against the surface of the fridge. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Eden groaned again. She picked her head up and looked at Natasha. “I’m really glad you’re here, Natalie. I don’t think I could survive this night without you.”

“It’s no problem.” Natasha peeked out into the main room and then back at Eden. “So, what’s up?”

“My brother’s fiancé, Kylie is what’s up. She hates me, which doesn’t bother me because I’m not too keen on her either. It’s _so _obvious that she’s only with him because of his money. Like, seriously, she’s not even _trying _to pretend to love him. She’s like 20 years younger than him and…did you notice how they were sitting? She might as well be sitting on a totally different seat. God! I can’t stand her!”

Eden’s face was a bright red and anger shone in her eyes. Natasha stepped closer to her and lightly touched her arm, bringing Eden’s grey eyes up to look into her light green ones. Her chest heaved with all of her unsaid anger and aggression, but her eyes were gentle and somewhat sad. Usually Natasha would’ve felt a little uncomfortable at seeing someone emotionally come undone in front of her, but seeing Eden look so conflicted sent a pang of sadness into her heart. Giving her a small and sympathetic smile, Natasha opened her arms and cocked her head, beaconing Eden to come to her. The black-haired woman’s grey eyes started to water as she launched herself into Natasha’s waiting arms.

Natasha rubbed her back as Eden started to cry, though after a few seconds, almost nearing a minute, Eden pulled away and brushed her tears away as best as she could with one hand. She chuckled humorlessly as a deep blush crept up her face. She took a deep breath and moved away from Nat, going to refill Kylie’s glass.

“I’m…really sorry about that. I’ve just been under so much stress lately…and just seeing my brother and his fiancé…I think it was too much for me. All day I had to listen to the two of them gang up on me, making me feel bad about my life’s choices and my flaws while they remained oblivious to their own.” She took another deep breath and placed her free hand against her forehead. Natasha came up behind her and started to rub her back again, helping her friend calm down. “Again, I’m sorry. I don’t normally do this…”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. Why didn’t you tell me you were so stressed?”

“Would you believe me if I told you that like 85% accumulated when my brother walked through my door?”

“Mm…maybe not.”

“How about if I said that I felt like a million times better when you showed up?”

A small wave of heat washed over her as she blushed. Her eyes shifted down to the island counter. Eden’s face also flushed a deeper red than before when she realized how her words sounded out loud and her eyes widened.

“I uh…I didn’t…that’s not—I mean…oh jeez.” She moved her hand back up to her forehead and started pacing her small kitchen. “Um…okay. I didn’t mean it like that, I only meant to say that you make me feel really good—I mean…Jesus!”

“Eden,” Natasha chuckled, “relax, okay? It’s fine. I get what you mean.” Her blush didn’t go away, but she didn’t care. She gave Eden a smile which the black-haired woman returned, though it quickly turned into a frown when Kylie poked her head into the kitchen doorway.

“Hey, I just wanted to see what the holdup on that glass of wine was…” she said, the edge of her voice sharp as she faked niceties. Eden’s fake smile returned, and she went back to filling up Kylie’s glass.

“Here you go,” she said, the corners of her mouth twitching as she stretched her fake smile wider. Kylie took the glass, shot her a smile with way too much teeth, and left. Natasha shuddered and glanced over at Eden. “God, I hate that bitch,” she whispered. Natasha chuckled and walked to a cabinet, grabbed two wine glasses and the bottle of wine, and filled up both of their glasses.

“Well, if you want to just camp out in here, I’m all for it.” They clinked their glasses together, and Eden chuckled when she swallowed her sip.

“God, I want to get out of here…”

“Really?”

“Yeah. But I can’t. I can’t just leave Tom and Kylie. It would be rude…plus I don’t trust that bitch to not take anything,” Eden sighed and lowered her head sadly.

“Eden, I think maybe you should leave. Being here isn’t doing you any favors. Why don’t you come to my place for a little to cool off, and if Kylie takes anything then I’ll personally deal with it. I promise.”

“What are you going to do?” Eden asked, breaking into a genuine smile.

“You’d be surprised…” Natasha smirked at her and finished off her wine.

“As much as I’d like to take you up on that offer, I can’t. I really, really can’t.”

“Alright, I won’t make you leave. But I’m gonna do you a huge favor,” Natasha said, leaving the kitchen.

“What’s that?” Eden asked, looking suddenly worn out.

“I’m gonna take out the trash.” Natasha left the kitchen, with Eden in tow, and walked back into the main room, standing in front of Tom and Kylie. She folded her arms and sent a cold glare at Kylie in particular.

“Can I help you?” Kylie asked in a snooty annoyed voice, her face contorted into a sneer. Natasha’s glare turned into an overly fake smile.

“Yes, I think you can. You can help me by getting the fuck out of this apartment.” Natasha’s voice was high pitched and sounded very much like the annoying tone used by over the top vegan surfers in California that spend all their time either surfing, sunbathing, or talking about surfing and sunbathing while eating a kale and avocado salad.

Kylie’s sneer grew and she would’ve pounced on Nat had Tom’s hand not shifted from around her back to grip her thigh. Kylie’s face turned a bright shade of red and she was visibly shaking, and Natasha could’ve sworn she heard the younger woman growl at her.

“You can’t tell me what to do. This isn’t your apartment.” Kylie shook Tom’s hand off her thigh and stood up, placing her hands on her hips and leaning to one side.

“You’re right, I can’t make you,” Natasha admitted, and her eyes traveled to the doorway where Eden stood, watching the scene. Looking back at Kylie, she smirked. “But she can.”

Kylie looked over at Eden, who took a deep breath and walked further into the room. “I w-want you out.”

“What did you say, bitch?” Kylie stalked towards Eden; a menacing glare displayed on her face. She raised her voice and Eden winced at the highness of her pitch. Kylie stood in front of Eden, towering over her in a desperate attempt to intimidate her. Eden looked down at her shoes and began to sweat under her scrutiny, feeling herself submit subconsciously to her. “That’s what I thought.”

Kylie walked back to her seat on the couch and grasped her wine glass, taking a sip. The not-so-subtle victory smile on Kylie’s face angered Eden beyond anything the blonde ever did. Eden frowned and walked further into the room, standing next to Natasha, and pointed with her free hand to the door.

“Kylie, this is my apartment, and I want you to. Get. Out. Right. Now,” Eden said, annunciating her words. Natasha noticed how…beautiful she looked when she got angry. Her left eye twitched and her eyebrows crinkled, and ever so slightly, her ears wiggled. Kylie’s mouth dropped open in shock and her eyes widened. With a stomp of her feet and a bratty strangled scream, Kylie ran out of the apartment, screaming and yelling down the hall as she went. Tom stood up from his seat and frowned.

“You didn’t have to be like that, Eden. It was completely rude and uncalled for,” Tom said, his hands falling at his hips. Eden huffed and chuckled and humorless chuckle as she stepped closer to Tom. Natasha backed away but remained ready to intervene, sensing that this was going to go south real soon.

“And you didn’t have to get engaged to that gold-digging skank, Tom. _That _was what was uncalled for. How can you be so oblivious to the fact that she’s using you? Didn’t you graduate law school at the top of your class? Aren’t you supposed to be like, really smart?” Eden asked, poking his broad soft chest with her index finger. Tom was at a loss for words and stood flabbergasted for a moment before he followed Kylie out of the apartment.

When the sound of the door closing reached Eden’s ears, a huge weight lifted from her shoulders and she slumped over into the closest chair, sighing and groaning. “Oh God,” she moaned, resting her hand against her forehead and taking deep breaths. Natasha came over and sat on the coffee table, resting a hand on Eden’s knee. Eden moved her hand from her own head and placed it on top of Nat’s hand. After a few seconds, the black-haired woman broke into a laugh with Natasha joining in.

“So…what do you want to do?” Natasha asked when the two of them calmed down. Eden looked up at her and smiled, a soft twinkle in her eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

Half a bottle of wine later, and Natasha and Eden were leaning against each other and the back of the sofa laughing drunkenly at some joke that was lost. Eden snorted as she laughed, causing Nat’s laugh to turn into a breathless wheeze. After some time and to try to regain some sort of reality and perhaps her balance, Eden rested her hand against Natasha’s thigh without realizing it, and Natasha froze. Her eyes fell down to Eden’s hand and then moved up to find Eden staring at her with wide eyes full of fear.

Eden’s face was much closer than Natasha remembered, and she couldn’t help but notice that her grey eyes flickered between her green eyes and her lips. Natasha gulped as Eden slowly moved in, her throat suddenly going dry and her mind screaming. She didn’t know what to do and she was too under the influence to think straight, or even pull away…but she wasn’t even sure if she wanted to. The few thoughts that she did have and could focus on were too incoherent for her drunk mind to understand.

Was she supposed to lean in and meet her lips? Should she pull away? How far was she supposed to go? Was she overthinking this? For once, Natasha was completely and utterly out of her element. During her training in the Red Room, she was taught how to seduce men for information or as a distraction, and through her time as a deadly spy/assassin, Natasha used her skills and her sexuality against many men. She was used to knowing that no matter how many kisses she gave or people she slept with, it was never real, and she never had to worry about feelings: hers or anyone’s.

Eden’s lips were soft, but a little chapped. Natasha sat frozen, pressed against the sofa, and stared straight ahead, looking past Eden’s head and focusing on a weird multicolored statue or maybe it was a vase. Eden deepened the kiss, pressing her lips firm against Natasha’s, and flicked her tongue across her bottom lip. Natasha’s eyes widened in shock and gasped into the kiss, leaving her mouth open. Eden seized her opportunity and shoved her tongue inside and immediately started to caress Natasha’s tongue.

The redhead’s heartbeat faster and her breath caught in her throat. Nat never felt this way before, and it scared her. Her mind went blank as Eden continued to move her mouth against hers. She moaned into the kiss as her hand came up and caressed Natasha’s cheek, and the redhead snapped back to reality and gently pushed her away, focusing on the heat in her face rather than Eden’s disappointed and shameful face.

“I’m…I’m so, _so _sorry. I think I had too much to drink and maybe I misread some signals…please forgive me, Nat.” Her face was so red and something about it tugged at Nat’s heart, which she would’ve listened to, but it was drowned out by her screaming thoughts. Eden’s eyes pleaded with her to forgive her, maybe even hoping that they could go back to the drunken lightheartedness that preceded only a few moments before.

“It’s uh…um…I-I think I should go…” Natasha stood up from Eden’s couch, grabbed her bag, and left. She ran down the hall to the elevator, waiting for it to come. Entering the empty elevator, she pulled out her phone and immediately called Clint who picked up on the second ring.

_“Hey is everything okay? I hadn’t expected to hear from you until later,” _the voice of the archer said into the phone, bringing Nat back again to reality, snapping her attention from the kiss.

“Uh Clint, I’m gonna need that ride,” Natasha’s voice wavered as she watched the numbers decrease the closer, she got to the ground floor. Shuffling could be heard on the other end, but Natasha paid it no mind.

_“Yeah sure, of course. Give me a few minutes to get ready and then I’ll be right over.”_

“Okay. Please hurry, Clint.” She hung up after that and paced the floor of the lobby while she waited for Clint.

When Clint pulled up outside Eden’s apartment building, Natasha sprinted outside and threw open the passenger door. Clint pulled away the second she sat down and closed the door, sending her a questioning look. Natasha’s eyes were glued to her lap and her fingers drummed against the armrest between them.

“Are you okay?” Clint asked. Raising an eyebrow at her as they stopped at a red light. “You’ve been oddly quiet since you got in the car.”

“I’m always quiet, Clint.”

“Yeah, but it’s different this time, which is why I said, ‘oddly quiet.’”

Natasha sighed and threw her head back. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

They were quiet for the remainder of the ride, and when Clint pulled up outside of Natasha’s building, he did the gentlemanly thing and helped her up to her apartment. Once inside, Nat flopped on her sofa face down and groaned. Clint sat down, lifted her feet up and placed them on his lap, and rubbed her feet. “What’s up, Nat? I know something’s wrong other than you being drunk.”

“Eden and I…we kind of sort of…kissed.”

“Woah! What? So how was the kiss? Was it soft and sweet or rough and passionate?”

“Aren’t you married with three kids and a healthy sex life? Why do you care about how my kiss went?” Natasha asked, furrowing her brow.

“Hey, it’s a big deal. This was your first romantic kiss; it’s not something that happens every day, Miss ‘I prefer to spend all my time alone with hot pockets and pop tarts while listening to Panic! At the Disco’. So, tell me. How was it?”

Natasha shrugged.

“Alright, let’s take this slow. If you could describe how Eden’s lips felt in one word, what would it be?”

“Clint, I don’t feel comfortable—”

“Come on, Nat, it’s one word.”

_“Clint…”_ Natasha whined.

_“Nat…” _Clint mimicked her whine. “Come on, please? We never got to talk about boys, and if I had known that this whole time that girls were your thing, I—”

“God, Clint.” Natasha slammed her head down on the throw pillow and groaned. Clint gave her a sympathetic look and patted the back of her thigh.

He noticed her flushed face and desperately wanted to make some sort of joke about it but decided against it. Natasha was silent for a few minutes, an inner war raging inside her, when she sat up and turned towards Clint, sitting cross-legged next to him. She took a deep breath and ran a hand through her messy hair.

“Okay, Clint…If I could describe her lips in one word it would be…warm, like I was kissing a…a…I’m drawing a blank, but her lips were so warm, Clint. Warmer than I’ve ever felt. And they were so soft, like cotton, but they were also a little chapped, but it’s like it didn’t even matter because she was so gentle but a little rough at the same time.” Clint smiled as Natasha opened up to him, watching as her eyes sparkled and her face flush a light red as she described the kiss. “It’s nothing like I’ve ever experienced before. I don’t even know if I liked it.”

“Well, it seems like it was some kiss. Why did you leave?”

“She…she wanted to go…further and I wasn’t ready.”

Clint nodded and looked down at the floor and Natasha knew him well enough to know that he was thinking. She figured he already knew the reason for her hesitation, and she knew it herself, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to say it out loud. Clint sighed and squeezed her hand, causing her to look up at him with nervous eyes, something he wasn’t used to seeing on her.

“You’re my best friend. You know that, Nat. So, that means that…whatever you decide to do with your life I will support you.” Natasha was grateful that she didn’t have to come out and say her fears and whatever thoughts ran through her head at the moment. She sent him a small smile and he could see her relax on the plush couch.

“Thanks Clint…for the talk. I know I’m not the most…open person in the world, so I’m grateful that you’re still around for me to talk to,” she gave his hand a squeeze and moved closer to him. Clint smiled back at her and nodded his head.

“Yeah, of course, and I won’t pressure you to tell me things. I’ll wait until you’re comfortable.”

Natasha sat in silence for a few minutes, looking down at her lap while her thoughts kicked up a storm. She by no means was ready to spill the metaphorical beans, but out of all the people that she worked with and considered friends, Clint was probably the only one that could help her. The man was happily married and went through the whole trouble of coming to terms with feelings and shit, so maybe…he could offer _some _insight? He had to be useful for something…

“There’s um…there’s something else,” Natasha breathed out, ignoring her thundering heartbeat. Clint sat up and lifted his head a bit, signaling that he was listening patiently. Natasha’s next inhale was unsteady and wavered in a slight and almost unnoticeable way. Almost. “For a while now, I’m not sure how long, but…I’ve felt something weird. When around Eden.”

When Natasha didn’t pick up right away, Clint broke the silence and said, “What is it that you feel?”

“I…can’t describe it. She makes me feel warm? I guess. Whenever she smiles, I can’t help but smile. The sound of her laugh makes me feel…complete. Especially when I’m the one that makes her laugh.” Clint smiled at her, a sweet smile and one born of happiness. “I don’t usually like being out with people, but when I’m with her, I…don’t mind being with her. I’ve been feeling happier lately, and I think it’s because of her.”

“What else?”

“The kiss…it was the most confusing and…exciting moment in my entire life. I mean, it scared the shit out of me, but I…” she shrugged, losing the words, “I don’t know.”

“I think…the infamous Black Widow is in _love_,” Clint wiggled his eyes as he lightened the mood and Natasha pushed him away as her cheeks dusted a light pink.

“I’m _not _in love. I don’t love Eden. It’s probably just…me not used to having friends that are girls. I mean, I’m surrounded by guys like almost 24/7.”

“Whatever man, but trust me, I know what’s up. I’ve been where you are, so even though I’m joking around, know that there’s some kinda truth to it,” Clint said as he squeezed her knee and got off the couch. “Well, I better be going. Got to drive back home tomorrow. Early. I’ll see you later.” He walked to the door and gave her one last wave. “I’ll tell the family you said hi.”

When Clint left, Natasha was left along with her own confusing and exhilarating thoughts. Did she love—or at least like—Eden? I mean, she was a good friend and she loved her company, but that didn’t mean she had feelings for her, right? That’s all Eden was…a friend. Nothing more, nothing less.

Natasha shook her head, trying to erase her troubling thoughts from her mind, and got off from the couch. She padded into the shower, sighing as her troubles seemed to melt away, and when she was finished, she got changed into a comfy set of pajamas, and went to bed. She hoped the next day would be kinder to her and tried not to think of Eden or the kiss.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Light smut

Natasha tossed and turned in her sleep, groaning and moaning as wave after wave of heat washed over her, and kicked the blankets off her. Her clothes were restricting, and every inch of her skin was covered in a thin layer of sweat.

She clamped her eyes shut more as her breathing quickened. She arched her back as Eden trailed her fingers across Natasha’s neck and down to her collarbone. Her lips connected with Natasha’s skin and left a trail of soft kisses down, starting at her cheek and ending at the other side of her collarbone. Natasha moaned softly and dragged her hand up to Eden’s thigh and to her stomach, traveling further and further north, Eden’s deep chuckle egging her on.

“You okay, baby?” Eden asked when Natasha moaned again. She said nothing, but nodded in response, humming in content when Eden’s fingers traveled lower down to the valley between her breasts.

“What’re you doing?” Natasha asked, her voice husky with lust. Her hand caught in Eden’s hair and the raven-haired woman paused her kisses and looked up at her, grazing her fingers across her cheek. She smirked and pressed her lips to Natasha’s.

“You’re late and I thought this would be a much better wake-up call than a noisy old alarm.” Natasha hummed as Eden’s knee and thigh moved between Natasha’s legs, pushing them apart, and rubbed gently against her warm core. “I take it I had the right idea?” Her voice was full of humor and her eyes were dark and blown wide with lust. She continued moving her knee against Natasha while her hands tangled in her hair and massaged her breast.

Natasha’s breathing picked up and her fingers grazed against her back. “I thought you said I was late.”

“You have time,” Eden’s lips connected with neck, sucking hard enough to definitely leave a mark. Eden picked up speed, listening to Natasha’s body and what she wanted, and the faster and harder she moved, the closer she was to bursting. “But you better hurry. I didn’t turn your alarm off…” she kissed her again. “You’re running out of time.”

Natasha bucked her hips and arched her back, listening to the raven-haired woman, and chased her release. She was close, and it wouldn’t take much more until she came in Eden’s arms. A few more seconds is all she needed…

Her alarm buzzed loudly, jolting Natasha from her sleep. Her eyes snapped opened and her heart was beating faster than it usually did. The redhead groaned as she sat up, her clothes, hair, and bedsheets sticking to her sweaty limbs, but frozen when she noticed that her pants were pushed to her ankles and her underwear was soaked through. She looked around her small apartment bedroom, looking for any sign of Eden. She didn’t realize that a part of her was disappointed to find no trace of her.

Sighing, she got out of bed and jumped in the shower. Most of the time she just stood under the stream, thinking back on her dream. That’s what it had to be, right? A dream? There’s no way any of that was real. But…why did it feel so real? Why did it feel so good? So…right? She shook her head and finished up, getting ready for another day of training, and left the apartment.

The walk to the tower felt longer today as Natasha couldn’t get her mind off the dream. While she knows that Eden was definitely 100% not in her bedroom early this morning, she could’ve sworn that she was. She had felt each and everything that the little minx did to her; she felt her fingers run over her body and tangle in her hair, she felt the heat of her kisses and the wetness of her tongue contributing to her hickeys, and…she felt her knee rubbing against her bringing her closer and closer to a release she hadn’t felt in a long time.

Clint of course noticed that she was distracted. Usually she was able to pin him in less than a minute, maybe two if he had his morning coffee and put up a good fight, but today…today he was able to get the drop on her, trapping her in a basic level one choke hold that he knew for sure she could get out of. When he released her, she sulked over to the bench silently and took a large swig of her bottle. Clint sat beside her and waved Steve away when he stepped towards her, a concerned look on his face.

He didn’t speak, he just sat beside her, waiting and giving her the chance to come to him. He knew she would—he knew practically everything about her and how she worked—and when she did, he would be ready for her, like he always did.

She inhaled a deep breath and her shoulders slumped when she released in, the whole time, Clint watched her and her breath, waiting for her to let her in. Her emerald green eyes looked over at him, as if telling him that he already knew what was bugging her, and he countered, raising an eyebrow to say, “try me.”

“I uh…had this dream last night.”

“What kind of dream?”

Natasha looked around the training room, eyeing Steve and Sam and Rhodey and even Wanda. The only one she was pretty sure could overhear her was Wanda, and while she liked the younger woman, she wasn’t close enough to her for her to peeping into her…erotic visions. And the guys…the guys were the absolute _last _people that she wanted to overhear her. They would tease her or objectify her or ask her questions, and she didn’t want to deal with that.

Clint too looked around and picking up what she meant, he took her arm in his hand and led her out of the training room and into the common area that was quiet for once. “So, tell me about this dream,” he sat down on the couch beside her and brought her a cup of coffee.

“It’s…complicated,” she took a sip and crinkled her face in disgust with the amount of sugar he put in, “and if I’m honest…kind of sexy.”

“Oh! Natasha Romanoff did you have yourself a wet dream?” Clint asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Natasha scoffed and moved to get off the couch, placing her mug on the coffee table in front of her, but Clint’s hand shot up and steadied her. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, please tell me.”

“You won’t make jokes?”

“I won’t, I promise.” She sat back down and looked over at him, questioningly. “Please. Tell me.”

“She came to me. In my dream. I felt her in my room, in my bed. She…she was touching me, and I felt her. The things I felt with her…I’ve never felt them before. Like ever. I don’t know what it means. I don’t know if there’s something here, if I’m hyper fixating on a brief kiss that probably didn’t mean anything, or if…it’s some weird subconscious fantasy to make up for a lifetime of not feeling anything. How do I know what this is, Clint?”

He took a sip of his coffee and sucked in a deep breath, processing her words.

“When was the last time—if ever—you have feelings for someone? Like romantic feelings?” Clint hesitated his question, careful not to hurt or even offend Natasha. The redhead—in personality only—was like a small animal in a room full of prey: she was cautious and guarded and when things got too loud or too pokey, she scampered.

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt these feelings, which is why I’m…” she didn’t want to admit it, she never had before. Clint sensed her hesitation and placed a callous hand on her knee. “I’m…afraid.” Natasha shoved her hands into her hair, grabbing two tight fistfuls, and tugged as she let out a loud, frustrated groan. “What is she doing to me, Clint? She invaded my life and she won’t leave! Everything I do or think somehow goes back to her and I want it to _fucking _stop!”

“Are you sure you want it to stop?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I’m not saying anything. I just…I’m listening to you and your problems and I think maybe…you have feelings for Eden. Like you said, you can’t stop thinking about her, she’s invading every part of your being, and she’s distracting you. But hey, that’s just my diagnosis, dude. If you think otherwise, that’s up to you. All I’m doing is laying down an option for you, so you don’t have to go crazy.”

Clint finished off his coffee and sat back on the couch, sighing and running a hand through his hair. He pulled out his phone and started swiping through a set of pictures before stopping and cracking a smile.

Turning his phone over to Nat, he chuckled, “Look at this. Laura found these two stuck like that for two hours. She would’ve been scared shitless if it wasn’t so damn funny.” Natasha took his phone from him and gazed at the picture of Clint’s two kids, Cooper and Lila, who were helping to take down the Christmas decorations and got all caught and tangled up in the lights and couldn’t get out.

“That’s hilarious,” she said, the corners of her mouth twitching up just a bit to give a passable smile, though her voice didn’t match.

“Yeah…” Natasha handed him back his phone and leaned back against the cushions of the couch, sighing and running a hand through her messy hair. Clint looked over at her again and place a hand back on her knee, giving her a gentle squeeze. “Hey.” Natasha looked over at him. “I really genuinely hope that things work out for you. I know from personal experience that this a frustrating, annoying, and downright scary experience. But I know you’ll get through it. And when you do, I hope that you’re happy because well, you deserve it.”

Natasha gave him a small smile before she stood up and looked back at Clint. “I gotta go back to training.” She turned around and took a few steps before she stopped and spun on her heels, turning back to face Clint. “And thank you…for talking to me. I really needed to get this out to another person. You’re a good friend.”

Clint smiled and got up from the couch, walking over to her, and wrapped his arms around her to pull her into a gentle hug. She reciprocated and rested her head against his chest, inhaling his musky and sweaty scent. “Yeah, of course. I’m always here for you, you know that.”


	7. Chapter 7

Natasha and Clint walked down the street, coffee cups in hand, talking and laughing like friends, which they were. They walked into a park and took a seat on a bench, and Clint draped an arm around her shoulders and the back of the bench. He took a sip of his coffee, scanned his eyes over the outdoor scene, and cleared his throat.

“So…you hear any more about Eden? Have you heard from her since the kiss?”

Natasha shook her head dejectedly and looked down at her coffee cup. Clint patted her shoulder and sent her a small sympathetic smile.

“Give it time, Nat. Give it time.”

“She’s driving me crazy, Clint. First, she kisses me, then she doesn’t talk to me ever again? What the hell is wrong with her?” Natasha balled her fist in a dangerous mix of anger and frustration. She was still thoroughly confused about her feelings and thoughts, and she wasn’t even sure if seeing or talking to Eden would help straighten things out, but she wanted to try. And regardless of her confusion, she knew enough to know that the lack of contact between the two of them hurt her. “I…I miss her.”

“I know you do.” Clint breathed a deep breath. The next thing he said, he had to be careful. Calculated. “You know…you could always make the first move. Send _her _a text or a call.”

“I…I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“I…I…” She sighed. “I don’t even know what to say. What if she brings up the kiss?”

“Just…be honest. With her and yourself.”

Natasha sighed. She knew she couldn’t avoid Eden forever, not that she would want to. Her confusing feelings and the kiss aside, it was refreshing to have a girlfriend that she could talk to and hang out with that wasn’t affiliated with the Avengers or with SHIELD. Eden was a good listener and somehow, no matter how outrageous the issue, had numerous amounts of wisdom that she would give to the redhead whenever she needed it. In a sense, she liked Eden and wanted to be close to her, to have her in her life, but how deep was this feeling, this…wanting?

Reluctantly she pulled out her phone and opened her messages, scrolling a bit before she stopped at Eden’s name. Seeing her contact picture sent a small pang of pain into her heart and a whole new wave of nervousness set in, halting her from opening the conversation.

“What do I even say, Clint? ‘Hi Eden, sorry I’ve been ignoring you the past few days, it’s just that your kiss sent me into a downward spiral into myself and now I’m overthinking every though and feeling I’ve ever had about you?’”

Clint shrugged. “I mean, I wouldn’t say that _exactly_, but you can be honest and tell her that you’ve been doing a lot of thinking over the past few days. Or, if you want to go your usual route, which I do not recommend by the way, you could lie and say that you were away for work and couldn’t get to your phone. That shouldn’t be too hard since you lied to her about your name.”

Natasha didn’t miss the disapproval in his voice but shook it off and looked back down at her phone, the blue cursor blinking as it waited for her to start typing her message. Deciding to just be simple, she typed out a simple “hey,” hit send, and waited rather impatiently for a reply. After an obscenely short amount of time, Natasha slammed her phone—albeit gently—down onto the bench, covered her face with her hands and threw her head back, and let out a very guttural groan that caused the archer to release a deep throaty chuckle.

“Why hasn’t she responded yet?” Natasha’s muffled voice sounded from her covered mouth.

“You know it’s only been what like…” Clint turned his wrist and checked an imaginary watch, “two minutes, right? She could be at work right now. Be patient and give her time. Who knows, she might be mad at you.”

Natasha removed her hands from her face and shot a glare at her friend. “Please don’t say that. That is the complete opposite of what I need to be hearing right now.” She released a long and exaggerated sigh as she once more checked her phone and saw that it had gone onto three minutes of Eden not responding to her text.

“So, you don’t approve of me lying about my name…” Natasha broke the growing silence and said the first thing that came to her mouth, wanting nothing more than to take her mind off her phone and unanswered text. Clint frowned and took Natasha’s half-filled coffee cup in hand, holding it up and silently asking if he could finish it. Natasha nodded and stared straight ahead, her eyes connecting with a pair of ducks swimming side by side on the pond in front of them. Normally she, like Clint, was a big coffee drinker, but she was much too distracted to drink it. Clint started chugging that caffeine, and when he looked back at her, his frown had softened.

“I…I understand why you did it, but no. No, I don’t approve. Lying isn’t right way to go about connecting with someone.” Natasha’s mouth opened to correct him no doubt, and Clint raised his hand, stopping her. “Regardless of how you want to connect with them. What do you think is going to happen if she finds out the truth? Do you even plan on telling her the truth?”

“I would like to, but I’m probably too deep into it now.”

“Well, if you just lied about your name, it shouldn’t be that bad. I think you’ll be okay. She might be pissed for a day or two, but that’s probably the extent of it.”

It unnerved her how calm he was about this, about everything, but then again, this _was _Clint. The last time he freaked out over something was when the kitchen at SHIELD headquarters ran out of his favorite dark roast. She tried to relax and focus on the water, lapping against the bank in a gentle and rhythmic motion as the soothing breeze blew.

She wasn’t sure how long she was sitting on the bench with Clint staring at the water, but when she heard the soft ping coming from her phone, she practically shot off the bench in anxious excitement. She looked over at Clint and then back at her phone, staring at Eden’s name on her screen.

“Well, are you going to open it?” Clint’s smirk hit her a certain way, and Natasha felt the growing need to slap the shit out of him. He taunted her and she knew it, he wiggled his eyebrows and his smile was bright and wide, baring his teeth. His voice was playful, too playful for her liking right now, but he did help her…on numerous occasions. She shook her head and rolled her eyes, opening the text, her heart hammering in her chest.

**_Eden [4:15] _**Hey

**_Eden [4:15] _**What’s up?

_ **Nat [4:16] **_Nothing much…

Natasha debated on whether or not to lie, to say that he job kept her busy and that was why she hadn’t talked to her. She didn’t necessarily like the idea of lying to Eden—or anyone for that matter, not anymore—but she wasn’t sure what she would say otherwise.

**_ Nat [4:19] _**Im sorry I’ve eben avoiding you. I was really busy and just had a lot of things on my mind.

**_ Nat [4:19] _**Been*

It was technically a lie, and Natasha was happy about that. The three little bubbles popped up on her screen and Natasha sucked in a breath.

**_ Eden [4:21] _**Honestly, it’s fine. I understand. Things have been pretty hectic with me too. Turns out my brother and his bitch of a fiancé eloped and didn’t tell the family. Now my mom’s pissed and my dad’s not speaking to him and when they do, they’re screaming and arguing.

Natasha felt bad for her and wanted to do something to help her, but she could tell things were rocky between them, or at the very least uncomfortable.

**_Eden [4:22] _**Hey so listen

**_Eden [4:23] _**About the kiss

**_ Eden [4:24] _**I didn’t mean to make you feel weird. I realized I overstepped and I’m so incredibly sorry. Ever since the other day I couldn’t stop thinking about what I did, and I was way out of line. If you’re not completely mad at me, maybe we can try again? I understand if you want me to back off. I just wanted to apologize.

Her heart broke. That was all there was to say at the moment. This whole entire time she had been worried about Eden being mad at her, when in reality Eden was the one that was worried. An enormous amount of guilt washed over her, and she regretted everything.

**_Nat [4:26] _**It’s not all your fault. I’m the one that should be sorry. I could’ve just tried to talk to you sooner. Or not run out in the first place. I didn’t mean to run out…I mean, I _meant _to, but it wasn’t what I was planning on doing.

**_Nat [4:26] _**Do you think we can meet up?

**_Nat [4:27] _**Like to talk?

“So, how’s it going?”

“I’m trying to see if we can get together to talk.”

**_Eden [4:27] _**I’m free later on today if you are? We can get a coffee or maybe dinner?

**_Eden [4:28] _**NOT LIKE A DATE! I’M NOT ASKING YOU OUT ON A DATE!

Natasha chuckled and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

**_Nat [4:29] _**I know I freaked out earlier, but you can relax. Dinner works. What’s some place low-key where we can go?

**_Eden [4:30] _**I know just the place. I’ll pick you up in an hour? If you’re not busy? If so, I can wait.

Natasha looked at Clint, his blue eyes looking right at her, soft and expecting her to explain the goings on with her and Eden. “What’s happening? Why are you looking at me right now?”

“Do you mind if I leave?”

“Gonna meet up with Eden?” He raised an eyebrow and a smile stretched on his face.

“That’s none of your concern.”

“It is if you want to leave. Yes or no? Are you going to see Eden?”

“You’re a piece of work, Barton. I don’t know how Laura put’s up with your nosy ass.” She stood up from the bench, folded her arms across her chest, and sighed. “If you must know, yes, I’m meeting up with Eden. She’s going to pick me up if I can leave now. So, can I?”

“Why are you asking me?” he shrugged and rolled his eyes.

“Clint…” she groaned, her voice strained and dangerous, though he knew she wouldn’t do anything. He chuckled and waved a hand in her direction as he turned his head back towards the pond, his eyes quickly connecting with the pair of ducks.

“Go meet up with your girlfriend. I’ll be fine here. All on my own. Just sitting here on the bench. With no one but the ducks to keep me company.” He let out a dramatic sigh, his shoulders falling lip and his head hanging low. He put on an over the top sad face, and as Natasha gathered her stuff to leave and sent Eden a response telling her to pick her up at her apartment, his dramatic sighs kept getting louder and longer.

“Clint.” She sent him a serious glare and he cracked under the weight of it, succumbing to a fit of laughter.

“Go on, I’ll be fine.” Natasha raised an eyebrow. “I’m serious.” She rolled her eyes and walked away from the bench, trying her best to ignore the grown man-child that she called her best friend. “Let me know how it goes!”


	8. Chapter 8

Eden’s fingers drummed against the surface of the table while her eyes stared ahead at Natasha’s glass. Her teeth speared and released her plump bottom lip, and if they were here under any other circumstance, Natasha would’ve believed that she was deep in thought. Though she couldn’t see, Natasha knew that she was bouncing her leg. The tablecloth fluttered ever so slightly, and the table shook a bit as well as her body. Her anxiety rolled off her in large overwhelming waves and Natasha was surprised that she herself didn’t become anxious just at the sight of her.

This was not a new sight for her, however. The ride to the little mom and pop diner had been awkward to say the least. When Eden pulled up in front of Natasha’s building and she got in the car, her hand brushed against Eden’s which was resting on the gearshift, causing the raven haired woman to flush a dark red and shift as far away from Natasha as she could while she was driving. So, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that she was nervous.

Natasha picked up on all of her nervous cues, storing them away securely in her brain so that she could remember them in the future, not that she imagined making Eden nervous in the future, but it was nice information to have.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable and awkward silence, Natasha cleared her throat, snapping Eden’s attention from Natasha’s glass. Her fingers stopped drumming, sitting in midair, and she stopped chewing on her lip though it remained between her teeth. Her grey eyes were wide and locked on Natasha’s, and the redhead couldn’t stop staring at her, engulfed in her beauty. Why hadn’t she noticed how breathtaking she was before? The setting sun filtered in through the window and touched her hair, lighting up each strand as if it was a match and her hair was a powdered keg, running wild until it exploded. Her eyes, without paying attention, one would think they were blue, were now clearly grey and she never knew that the color was so beautiful. Has she always been this beautiful?

The redhead’s face flushed a deep pink and Eden cracked a small smile as she watched Natasha staring at her. She swallowed and tipped her head down releasing a shaky breath and picked her head up, seeming more confident than she was seconds ago.

“Again, I’m sorry for the kiss. It wasn’t the right time and it came out of nowhere. I…I had too much to drink and I think I misread some things. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” Eden frowned in sadness and she too was blushing, though Natasha wasn’t sure if it was for the same reason that she was. Natasha’s hand stretched out, reaching hesitantly across the table until it rested like a thin sheet over Eden’s hand. Eden’s breath hitched at the shocking electricity that ran through her…or them, she wasn’t sure.

“I-I don’t think I m-minded…the kiss.”

“You…ran away.”

“I think I was just…shocked or surprised? I don’t know.” Natasha shook her head and cast her eyes down. Eden continued to stare at her, her face full of uncertainty. “That’s not an excuse, and I know it hurt you. Regardless of you being drunk, you put yourself out there, and I could’ve been more considerate of that. I’m sorry for pulling away and running without an explanation, and then ignoring you. You…didn’t deserve that.”

“Are…are you not a lesbian? Is that why you pulled away? Is that why you ran?” Natasha didn’t know how to respond. Eden sounded so…so scared. But she had to tell her the truth. The whole truth. Otherwise, what was the point of being here?

“I’m going to be honest with you; I don’t know. I don’t know what I am, really.” She paused and took a deep breath, Eden’s eyes still focused on her. “I’m going to tell you a little story. There was once a little girl that grew up in Russia, living a hard and traumatic life. She was tortured and conditioned into a life of secrets and murder, working for people who wanted to hurt others. They used her, and she complied; what else could she do? What else did she know? Then…” she took another deep breath; it was shakier than the last and Eden could tell that tears pricked her eyes.

“Then, she grew up, became more dangerous, more used. She developed…physically. Grew stronger and according to some, more beautiful, and now she wasn’t just killing. She was…lying and using her body on vulnerable people, preying on their most human and basic of instincts, forcing secrets from them when they couldn’t think clearly…and then, depending on her orders, she would kill them. She did this for a long time, and as time went on, it got easier. Each kill weigh less and less heavily on her mind, until she didn’t feel anything anymore. She became less merciful and every cry and plea fell on deaf ears.”

Eden’s face softened to one of sympathy and she shifted their hands, so Eden’s rested on top of Natasha’s. The redhead’s breath wavered, and Eden threaded her fingers with Natasha’s. She looked up at her and Eden sent her a small smile, encouraging her to continue while also showing her the depth to which she was listening.

“She got so bad that she got on SHIELD’s radar…in a bad way. SHIELD is a secret—”

“I know about SHIELD,” Eden said, chuckling and shaking her head. She ran her thumb over Natasha’s knuckles. Natasha smiled and sniffled.

“Yeah well, SHIELD came after her, and not in the way that you would hope. They sent their top agent out to…to terminate her. To put an end to her threats. He was already to do so, and when he met her, all he found was a scared little girl that had her childhood and youth stolen from her, and he made a different call. He invited her to SHIELD, gave her a home and a…a family. She worked hard to become her own person…not what those monsters trained her to be. Sure, she’s made some mistakes since then, she’s not perfect, but she’s trying. She wants to be different. She…wants to be someone that when others look at her, they’ll be proud of her. Of the person she’s become.”

“I’m sure there are people that are proud of her. I know I would.” Eden’s smile brightened, revealing her teeth, and grew to stretch to her ears. She tightened her hand over Natasha’s, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“So…you get what I’m trying to do?” Natasha raised her eyebrow and gave her a little smirk. Eden laughed, a sweet melodic sound that rang through Natasha’s ear and warmed her heart, making her happier than she ever thought she could be.

“Yes, I do. You weren’t very subtle, you know.” Natasha looked down, blushing again. “So…you work for SHIELD.”

“Don’t forget I worked as a secret spy/assassin for the KGB for most of my life.”

“Right, but I was trying to focus on your present, not your past.”

“Why?”

“Because I like to see the good in people. When I look at you, Nat, I don’t see what I think you think you see. I see a strong and confident young woman who is capable of feeling compassion and kindness and…love. I see someone who never fails to make me laugh or to comfort me when I’m feeling sad or stressed. I see someone who is a hero…someone who saved my life.” Natasha looked away and out the window, inhaling a deep breath. Eden touched her free hand to her chin, pulling her head back to look at her. “Don’t think I forgot about that. You saved my life, Nat. You’re a hero.”

“There’s something else I need to tell you…”

“What else could you have to tell me?”

Natasha felt uneasy. Eden’s reaction to her past was…unexpected. She hadn’t run away like she thought she would, and she didn’t look at her like a monster like she feared. But this seemed to be different. This was her _name_. A person’s name was important. It helped bridge connections between people and told people where you came from and who your people were, where you belonged. Eden squeezed her hand again, easing her thoughts, and Natasha looked back at her, guilt etched on her face.

“I…I lied about my name. My name isn’t Natalie Rushman; that was just an old alias of mine. My name…my _real _name is Natasha. Natasha Romanoff.” She released her breath and avoided Eden’s breathtaking eyes.

After a few seconds, Natasha looked back up at Eden, trying to gauge her reaction. Like she expected and feared, Eden had sat back in her chair and removed her hand from her own. Her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes were turned away from the redhead. Natasha nodded and gathered her stuff, standing from her seat.

“I’m really sorry and you don’t deserve what I did. I swear I had a good reason for doing it and it wasn’t some sort of catfish, I just…my past, my life is dangerous. I have a lot of baggage and a lot of skeletons in my closet, and I guess I wanted to protect you. I know that’s no excuse, and believe me, I’m not trying to make it one. It’s just an explanation. I’ll leave you alone, if that’s what you want, and I understand if you never want to see me again—”

Eden shot out of her chair and grabbed Natasha’s hand again, shocking her out of her rant. Her eyes looked fearful and her hand trembled slightly. Natasha looked down at their hands, watching Eden’s fingers twitch against her skin, and placed her hand on top of hers.

“Um…Natali—Natasha, please…don’t go. Not again. I don’t know if I can take you running out on me again,” she breathed a slight chuckle, but they both knew there was no humor behind it. “I’ll be honest, I’m a little pissed. But I understand why you did it. I’m sure if I were in your shoes, I would’ve done the same thing.”

“So, what does that mean?”

“It means…that I think Natasha is a very pretty name.”

Natasha smiled and she blinked away the tears that pricked her eyes. Eden’s hand came up and wiped a small tear that managed to escape down her face. Her gentle eyes looked up at her, and for the first time _ever _she felt…a stirring. Her eyes flickered down to briefly to Eden’s lips and then back to her eyes. Her breathing quickened, and her heart leaped out of her chest when Eden licked her lips and swallowed hard.

“I know what I said earlier, but is it bad if I want to kiss you again?” Eden asked, looking at Natasha with a sense of desperation. Natasha smirked and pushed some hair out of her face, grazing her fingers against Eden’s soft cheek.

“What’s bad compared to what I’ve done?”

“I-Is that a—”

“Just…just kiss me already.”

Eden slammed her lips against Natasha’s and cupped her face in her hands. The kiss was hard and passionate and…exhilarating. Natasha’s head was swimming and her skin warmed at Eden’s touch. Eden shoved her hands into Natasha’s hair, intertwining her fingers with silky strands and tugging in sharp pulls. Natasha pulled away and broke the kiss, hissing in pain.

“I’m sorry,” Eden whispered, nuzzling into Natasha’s neck.

“It’s okay.”

Eden looked around at the very public restaurant, and her cheeks warmed at the old couple sitting across from them that gave them annoyed looks.

“Do you think we could go somewhere private? I think there’s more we need to talk about…”

“We could go to my apartment,” Natasha offered, ignoring the growing heat in her face.

Though the drive from the café to Natasha’s apartment was still a little awkward, it wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as before. Natasha’s eyes lingered on Eden, taking her in and watching her focus on the road in front of them. Her hand slowly moved from her lap to rest against her knee, making the black-haired woman smile and flush at the small contact. When Natasha led her up to her apartment, she shifted to autopilot, bringing her over to sit on the couch and making sure she was comfortable.

“Do you want anything to drink?”

Eden blushed again and it was enough to make the redhead’s heart jolt.

“I think I should stay sober for this. Wouldn’t want to jump you again.”

Now it was Natasha’s turn to blush. She felt her cheeks heat up and she cast her eyes down while she let out a shaky breath. Picking her head up and chuckling, she nodded and walked into the kitchen, coming back quickly with a glass and a large full bottle of wine. She opened the bottle and bypassed the glass, bringing the mouth of the bottle up to her lips and taking a few gulps. Eden watched her with an amused look, and when Natasha pulled the bottle away from her lips and wiped her face, she raised an eyebrow quizzically.

“What was the point of the glass?” Eden chuckled.

“The glass is for you.” She took another sip and huffed after she swallowed, the large amount of alcohol stinging the back of her throat as it went down. “In case you change your mind.”

“So…where do we start? Where do we go from here?”

Natasha looked over at Eden, her eyes combing every inch of her, noticing the way she seemed to sink into herself on the couch, her leg restlessly bouncing again causing the plump flesh of her thigh to jiggle in time. Her fingers drummed against her knee forming a melodic rhythm that only she could hear in her mind. Her grey eyes kept flickering to her and to her hands in her lap, and then back to her, and then back to her hands.

“Where do you want things to go?” Natasha’s heart hammered in her chest and she prayed to whatever deity that happened to live in the sky, looking down at people and making their lives hell, hoping that Eden couldn’t hear its deafening thumps. Eden bit her lip at the question and looked down, her face engulfing in a fiery red.

“I guess it’s not a secret anymore that I…have a crush on you Nat. Maybe it never was. Maybe I was only fooling myself into thinking that I was discreet, like I fooled myself into thinking that maybe there was something there between us.”

“What makes you think there’s nothing between us?” To be honest, Natasha wasn’t sure if there was anything between them. She had never been in a relationship with another person—and for the longest time, it never bothered her—but she could admit that whenever she was with Eden, some part of her felt…right. Maybe that wasn’t the right word; some part of her felt comfortable. Like she didn’t have to pretend or be ashamed. It was hard for her to trust other people, especially women (it had taken almost half a year for Natasha to stop sending angry glares at the Scarlet Witch and even then another month or two for the two of them to be on friendly speaking terms), but Eden wormed her way into her heart and managed to break down all of her defenses in record time. She couldn’t explain it or understand it. What made Eden different from lots of other people that tried to get through to her, including her own teammates?

Eden looked up at her, the rims of her eyes glistening with tears she could tell she was holding back. She inhaled and released a shaky breath before reaching for the glass and wine bottle, pouring a little bit into said glass and then taking a sip, downing it in one go.

“I see the way you look at me, and it’s not the same way I look at you. I thought maybe…maybe you were just…trying to fight it, so I went on a limb and kissed you. And when you didn’t kiss me back and just stared at me…and when you ran away…I knew. Knew that everything I felt was all in my head and that I was stupid to think that someone could…” She couldn’t finish and instead broke down, crumbling in on herself and allowing her tears to break free and roll down her face. A loud cry slipped through her lips, sounding louder and harsher than it probably was from trying to hold it in. Natasha scoot closer to her on the couch and pulled her into her, Eden immediately burying her face into the crook of her neck.

“Stupid to think someone could what? Love you?” Eden pulled away from her neck and looked into her soft green eyes. “That’s not a stupid thought, Eden. It never is. To want love, it’s a thing that everyone wants and needs, so you’re not stupid for thinking someone could give that to you.”

Eden pulled away fully and moved back to her original seat, wiping her eyes and face with the sleeve of her shirt, and pouring herself another glass of wine. “Still…I overestimated our connection and made myself believe in something that just wasn’t there. Probably never was. Maybe I was just caught up in the fact that you save my life and because of that, I feel incredibly safe with you, Natal—Natasha. Sorry…I’ve got to get used to that.” Natasha smiled a gentle smile. “You’re different than the women I hang around with. You might not believe it, but you’re incredibly warm and funny and so, so, _so _smart. You’re like the smartest person I know, and from what you’ve told me and the little I know about SHIELD, you’re a badass superhero that can take care of herself. I just…one day looked at you, and I felt…different.”

“I can relate to that.” Natasha picked up the bottle and took another sip, ignoring the fact that it was halfway.

“What do you mean?”

“In the restaurant. I…I looked over at you and everything felt different. And I must’ve looked at you probably a hundred times before now. Suddenly you…It was like I was just noticing how beautiful you are or that your little nervous habits are…kinda cute. Especially the way you chew on your bottom lip…” Natasha chuckled and shook her head, bringing it down to look at her lap. Eden too looked down but frowned at her words.

“Don’t do that.”

“Don’t do what?” Natasha looked back up at her, and instead of her soft teary face, a harsh angry glare took its place, giving her a dangerous look that made Natasha uneasy.

“Don’t play with me. I’m in agony and you’re toying with me, giving me hope. So, don’t. Don’t give me hope.” She abruptly stood up from the couch and walked around the coffee table, making her way to the front door. “It’s fine if you don’t have feelings for me, I’ll get over it, but don’t sit there and mess with me and my feelings by making me think that I have the tiniest sliver of a chance. I don’t need that. I don’t need to sit up all night crying over you when you turn around and run from me again.”

Natasha jumped off the couch and caught Eden’s hand in hers right before she was able to leave the apartment. She spun her around and ignored the startle look in her face and the flashes of anger in her eyes. Before she could say anything more, Natasha pressed her lips against Eden’s, capturing them in a hard and hungry kiss. Eden gasped but soon melted into the kiss and Natasha’s arms, shoving her hands into her soft red hair, giving it soft tugs. Natasha started to move, backing Eden up until she slammed the taller girl’s back firmly against the wall.

A moan slipped out of the raven-haired woman’s mouth, giving Natasha more fuel to press into her, deepening the kiss. Their hearts beat wildly in their chests and their lungs screamed, desperate for air, but neither one of them wanted to pull away. Eden moved her lips against Natasha’s loving the firmness of them and trailed her tongue across her bottom lip. Though she couldn’t think it then, Eden was surprised that Natasha gave her the permission that she sought after. She pushed herself off the wall, pushing back and directing them back to the couch, where Natasha back onto the plush cushions and Eden climbed on top of her.

Natasha’s hands roamed up and down Eden’s back, pulling her closer to her while not breaking the kiss. She gasped when her thigh moved between her legs, but still didn’t pull away. The redhead took a deep breath in through her nose and heat rushed down her body as she breathed in Eden’s scent. She smelled like black cherries, and it was intoxicating. If their mouths weren’t engaged in this heated kiss that grew more and more heated by the second, then she was sure she would’ve started salivating.

She wasn’t sure how long they were going at it, but when Eden finally pulled away, Natasha was left with an emptiness. The warmth that enveloped her when she was touching Eden disappeared, and the cliché sparks that erupted when they kissed were like they never existed. But Natasha knew. She brought up her fingers and brushed them against her swollen lips, reveling in the tingles that still popped against her skin like a pack of pop-rocks when they touch water.

Eden’s chest was rising and falling quickly, as was Natasha’s, and her face was redder than the redhead had ever seen. Her lips too were red and swollen, and Natasha so wanted to capture them again when Eden licked them in an effort to bring back some moisture that was lost. Natasha sat up and pulled Eden back to her, resting her on her lap, and Eden wrapped her legs around her waist, straddling her. Placing a quick and innocent kiss to her reddened cheek, Natasha pressed their foreheads together and closed her eyes, once more inhaling her delicious scent.

“We…We got a little carried away…” Eden muttered. “I blame it on the wine.”

“I don’t,” Natasha’s voice was deep and husky, and a shiver ran through Eden. “I knew exactly what I was doing.”

Eden liked the feeling of being in Natasha’s arms, in fact, she _loved _it. She was soft and warm and everything that she wanted. But what she said a few moments ago still haunted her. She wanted Natasha to be sure that this was what she wanted, that _she _was what she wanted. She wasn’t sure if she could handle Natasha ever leaving her.

Natasha kissed her cheek again. Then her other one. Then her nose. Then her forehead, and finally her lips. “I promise I’m not toying with you, Eden. I’ll be very, very honest with you, though, I’ve never been in a relationship before—let alone with a woman—but if you want us to be together, I’ll be devoted to you as my partner and try to make you happy.”

“I only want to be with you if that’s what _you _want. I don’t want to force you into something you don’t want to do. I’m not like that; I don’t force people into relationships because I want them.” She brushed her hand over Natasha’s face and rested her hand against her cheek. She pecked her lips and rested her forehead down on hers. “Do you want to try this? See how it works?”

“I think I can do that,” Natasha smiled and lifted her head to catch Eden’s lips with her own, running her hands down to rest at her waist, gripping her hips. Eden pulled away and bit her lip, smiling and tucking a strand of hair behind Natasha’s ear.

“We should stop. I already surprised you with a kiss, I don’t want to surprise you with something else.”

“You kinda already did,” Natasha muttered, nipping at the exposed skin of her collarbone.

“What do you mean?” Eden squealed, her eyes widening.

Natasha’s face flushed when she realized what she had said. She looked away and tried to ignore the question, but Eden kept her on the subject, pressing and pleading for Natasha to be honest, promising she wouldn’t judge her. Eventually, Natasha relinquished, sighing in defeat.

“You promise you won’t judge me?” Eden’s eyes softened and her hands cupped her face, bringing it forward to give her a sweet comforting and loving kiss.

“I would never judge you. Ever. Now tell me how I surprised you again.”

Natasha sighed, falling limp in her arms, her head falling onto her shoulder. Eden giggled and ran her fingers through her hair. “Okay, so like, the night of the kiss, I…might’ve had a dream about you.”

“What kind of dream?”

“It was a uh…I don’t know if I feel comfortable telling you…”

“Why not? It’s not like it’s anything bad. Or inappropriate, right?”

Natasha paused and Eden laughed when her face darkened. Eden’s eyes widened and her cheeks dusted a light pink at the realization. She laughed some more, but when she saw Natasha’s embarrassed face, she calmed down and kissed her again.

“Okay…so moving past the fact that you totally, definitely, 100% had a sex dream about me, it’s nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed of. It’s normal to feel…these things for someone. I know I’ve had my fair share of wet dreams, some of which have been about you—”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I mean, I’d be lying if I wasn’t attracted to you on more than just a romantic level, I mean look at you. You’re gorgeous and hot and sexy and I’m not stupid or blind. And you make me so incredibly horny.”

Eden looked at her with a devilish smirk, her eyes glinting with mischief and Natasha didn’t miss the low rumble of her chest as she kissed her again, slightly bucking her hips to grind against Natasha’s stomach. Natasha’s breath caught in her throat and her grip on the other woman’s hips tightened, her fingers digging into the skin that was exposed when her shirt rode up. Eden’s mouth slammed against Natasha’s, catching the redhead by surprise, though Natasha recovered, moving her lips against hers. She pulled Eden closer to her, bringing a hand off her waist and up to grope her left breast. Eden hummed at the sensation but pulled away and kissed Natasha’s forehead. Resting her hand on top of hers, pulling it off her breast, she gave Nat a small knowing and somewhat lusty smile.

“We need to stop.”

“You started it,” Natasha laughed and groaned as she pulled away.

“I-I want us to go slow…and since this will be your first time, I want that to be special.”

Natasha smiled and hugged Eden, pressing a kiss to the crook of her neck. “Thank you.”

“Yeah of course.”


	9. Chapter 9

**_Nat [1:46] _**Hey, so I was thinking…

**_Eden [1:47] _**Uh oh. That’s troubling ;)

**_Nat [1:48] _**>: p

**_Eden [1:50] _**uwu

**_Nat [1:53] _**wth? what’s that supposed to mean lol?

**_Eden [1:54] _**You’re cute when you’re angry ;)

**_Eden [1:55] _**So what were you thinkign?

**_Nat [1:56] _**How about we go out tonight? Like as a date?

Natasha bit her lip and bounced her leg nervously as she waited for Eden’s response. Grunts and sounds of pain, surprise, and victory shot out from all points of the room and swirled around the redhead, infiltrating her headspace. She let out a sigh, blowing out the air with such a dramatic force that the few strands of hair that escaped her ponytail lifted into the air and danced in the small breeze.

**_Eden [1:59] _**A date? Oooh, Natasha Romanoff, you hopeless romantic, you! Aren’t you just the sweetest teddy bear? 😘🤗

**_Nat [2:00] _**shut up

**_Eden [2:01] _**But Nat, you’re being sweet! And it’s cute! Usually I’m the sweet one!

**_Nat [2:02] _**STOP! I am NOT sweet! I am strong!

Natasha laughed to herself, watching as the three dots of Eden’s response blink at the bottom of her screen.

**_Eden [2:03] _**Yes you are, sweetie. You are the strong one. You’re so strong.

**_Nat [2:03] _**While I appreciate your compliment, thank you btw, why do I detect a hint of sarcasm?

**_Eden [2:04] _**It’s possible that there was such a hint…but it’s nothing that you can prove.

**_Nat [2:05] _**If you don’t stop being mean to me, I’m going to change my mine and sit at home by myself eating your favorite pizza while binge watching The Great British Bake Off.

**_Eden [2:05] _**NOOOOOO!

**_Eden [2:06] _**YOU WOULDN’T!

**_Nat [2:06] _**Try me ;)

**_Eden [2:07] _**😱

**_Eden [2:07] _**YOU MONSTER!

**_Nat [2:08] _**You gonna stop?

**_Eden [2:09] _**yeah…

**_Nat [2:10] _**Don’t do that…

**_Nat [2:11] _**Eden?

**_Nat [2:12] _**Eden??

**_Nat [2:13]_** EDEEEEEENNNNN!!!

**_Nat [2:14] _**Why are you ignoring me??? Did I go too far? I promise I won’t watch The Great British Bake off without you. You know I could never do that. You make it so much fun and worth watching. Please answer me.

Natasha’s heart started to beat fast and hard in her chest, her nerves getting the best of her. Had she accidentally hurt Eden? Offended her without even realizing? Acted too hard and too strong and now Eden didn’t want to deal with her? She clenched her hand into a tight fist, her knuckles whitening and her nails digging into the soft flesh of her palm.

She tore her eyes off her phone and looked around the training room, hoping—seeking for a distraction. Her eyes naturally fell onto Wanda, paying attention to her movements, quick and precise. The little Witch flailed her arms, wisps and tendrils of scarlet energy swirled around the room, surrounding around the practice dummies, hoisting them into the air and taring them apart.

She only refocused on her phone when she heard a soft blip—an incoming text. Looking down, she heard her heart pounding through her ears, a headache forming.

**_Eden [2:20] _**Hey sorry about that. My boss caught me on my phone and went on a mini lecture, but he’s gone now. Did you really think I was ignoring you?

**_Nat [2:20] _**Kinda…

**_Eden [2:21] _**You’re so cute 😊 So…what was this date idea?

**_Nat [2:22] _**Well, that’s up to you. We can either go out or we can stay in, eat pizza, and binge watching The Great British Bake Off while we fight off the urge to fuck each other into next week.

**_Eden [2:23] _**Hmm…🤔 While the second option sounds SUPPER compelling, I think it would be better for both of us if we went out. How’s…dinner and a movie? I’ll pick you up at 6?

**_Nat [2:24] _**Wasn’t I the one that was setting up the date lol

**_Eden [2:25] _**I’m sorry. Did you have another plan? We don’t have to go with that if you don’t want…

**_Nat [2:26] _**No! I like the idea, it’s just I’m usually the one in control lol

**_Eden [2:27] _**So it’s a good plan?

**_Nat [2:27] _**👍

“Hey Romanoff!” Sam’s loud and obnoxious voice cut through the noise of the training room and snapped Natasha’s attention away from her phone. She grimaced as she looked up at him. “What’s the matter you tired? Come on, girl, you’re slacking!”

She stood up from the bench and flipped him off. Placing her phone down on the bench and stretching, she walked onto the mats, grabbing Sam’s arm as she passed him, and pulled him into the center mat with her. She crouched in a ready defense position and waved him on, initiating the start of their spar. Sam stepped up, cast a scared look at Rhodey who backed away and held up his hands, shrugged and readied himself as well. Natasha eyed him carefully, calculating and menacing.

Steve came over and with a smile on his face, he stood at the side. “Alright. First to pin their opponent wins. Ready?” He looked between the two of them and waved his hand down. A primal glint flashed in her eyes and for a moment, Sam felt an intense amount of fear run through his veins like cold water, chilling him to the bone. Before he could comprehend what was happening, Natasha rushed at him, tackling him onto the mat, wrapping her legs around his neck and squeezing lightly (not enough to cut off his air completely), and grabbed his arm and bended in back behind his back.

He cried out in pain, shouting “uncle” out repeatedly as he one free hand slapped against the mat. He writhed under her as he tried to free himself from her grasp. The room erupted into laughter when Natasha released him and got off him, rubbing her hands together, letting out a short breath and smirking. She turned around and looked at Sam who was rubbing his neck, “What’s the matter, Wilson? I think you’re slacking.”

She grabbed her stuff and left the training room, walking down the hall and into the women’s locker room to take a shower. She heard the door to the locker room open, though she ignored it. Ending her shower and grabbing her towel, she pushed the curtain back to reveal Wanda standing in the middle on room, looking awkward and out of place. Her arms were crossed over her body and her eyes were cast down to stare at the ugly tiled floor while her teeth chewed on her bottom lip.

Natasha raised her eyebrow at her and tightened her towel around her body, stepping around Wanda to get to her locker. She pulled out her spare civilian clothes, finished drying off, and got changed.

“Everything okay?” Natasha asked, shooting her an annoyed and curious look. Wanda’s face flushed and she inhaled sharply.

“It was funny…what you did to Sam, I mean. He absolutely deserved it.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Natasha didn’t know what to do when with the younger brunette. In fact, from what she could remember, this was the longest that she’s ever held a conversation with her. Wanda shifted on her feet and sighed. “Can I help you?” Natasha asked, feeling a little bit annoyed at the fact that she was still standing there looking at her.

“I just…I just wanted to say sorry. For everything. I wasn’t in my right mind when I…” she waved her hands around in the air in nonsensical movements, “you know. I’m not making excuses; I take full responsibility for my actions and I hope that one day we can maybe…become friends?”

Natasha froze, looking up at the brunette with curious eyes. She didn’t know what to do. Could she see herself becoming friends with the younger woman? She wasn’t quite as bitter as she once was, but what Wanda did to her…was unforgivable right? The woman…took control of her mind and twisted it, showing her deepest and darkest fears, her worst nightmares. She was still haunted everyday by the events of what happened in the Red Room, so she tried so hard to lock that part of her life away, but Wanda broke down the door without a key. She took each individual nightmare and distorted it, enhancing it, making it worse than it was.

While she understand why the younger woman went along with the Hydra experiments and becoming Ultron’s right-hand man—or woman in her case, she couldn’t get over what Wanda did for her. Over the past almost two years, Wanda did everything she could to atone for her actions, and for the most part, Natasha felt pretty indifferent to the woman and what she was doing, not having to worry about accepting her forgiveness because she figured the brunette would never get the guts to talk to her, but now…now how could she respond?

Wanda tightened her arms around her and looked away from Natasha. Her pale face flushed an unhealthy red, and she shuffled on her feet. “I-I’m sorry. It was stupid of me to try to talk to you. I guess…I know I messed up big time and understand that not everything can be solved by an apology. I’ll leave you alone.” She turned and made for the door.

“Wait,” Natasha called out to her, releasing a short uneasy breath. Wanda turned back to look at her, her bright green eyes similar to Natasha’s glistening. Natasha stepped closer to her, holding out her hand. Wanda looked down at her hand and then back up into her eyes. Wanda took her hand, giving it a firm shake and a small smile before leaving the locker room.

○○○

Natasha waited outside her apartment building, phone in hand as she stared down at Eden’s recent text. She should be pulling up any minute now, and her heart hammered in her chest, so loud that she was sure that anyone in her immediate space could hear it. She wondered if Eden was nervous, and if she was, there was no way she was as nervous as her. Eden told her that she had been on a few dates with women before, so she didn’t expect the black-haired woman to practically shitting her pants at the prospect of going on a first date. But then again, Eden seemed really into her, and part of Natasha hoped that Eden saw her differently than the other women she’d dated.

Natasha smiled when she saw Eden’s familiar blue car pull up in front of her. She rolled the windows down and smiled when she saw her. Nat’s eyes slipped down to her lips, staring at the plump flesh painted a delicious red, and a shuddered exhale came from her throat. Eden blushed and bit her lip, looking down at her steering wheel.

“Get in the car, loser. We’re gonna be late,” she said, unlocking her door. She giggled when Natasha opened the door and sat next to her. Eden took her hand and kissed her cheek before driving away.

“How was your day?” Natasha asked after a few moments of silence. Eden glanced over at her and smiled a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“It was okay. Work was fine, but I had to stop at home to grab some things and had to deal with my parents…” she huffed and tightened her grip on the steering wheel.

“What’s so bad about that?”

“I kinda shut them out of my life after I came out. They weren’t entirely supportive when I came out and when I first brought a girlfriend home to introduce them to her, they were assholes. My dad kept making insensitive comments that weren’t _quite_ homophobic, but were definitely rude, and my mom tried to ignore the fact that she was my girlfriend by treating her like she was just a friend that I invited to dinner like how I did when I was younger.”

Natasha frowned and rested a hand on top of her, easing her grip on the wheel.

“I couldn’t take it, so I gave them an ultimatum: if they were my parents and truly loved me, then they had to love _all _of me, and that included my girlfriends, but if they couldn’t except that, any of that, then they would lose me. Over the years, they’ve gotten a little better, but…I know deep down they still haven’t accepted me.”

“I’m so sorry,” Natasha mumbled, shifting her hand to rest on Eden’s knee. Eden breathed a small chuckle and gave Nat’s hand a squeeze.

“It’s okay now. I don’t let them get to me. I know that they’re flawed, and I shouldn’t let their narrow way of thinking interfere with my love life. I know who I am, and I love myself.” She smiled a real smile and picked up Nat’s hand, pressing her lips to the skin on the surface. “I stopped denying myself and seeking other people’s approval a long time ago and I’ve never been happier.”

“If you’re happy, then I’m happy,” Natasha smiled. Eden giggled and kissed her hand again.

“So…what do you want to do for dinner?”

○○○

They sat on opposite sides of the table, smiling and laughing at each other, overall, just enjoying each other’s company. Natasha never felt so happy then when she was sitting across from Eden. Eden’s laughter sounded like beautiful music to Natasha who had spent her entire life deaf to the world. She grasped Eden’s hand and threaded their fingers together, smiling brighter than ever before. How was it possible for her life to change so much after meeting one person? Looking at Eden sitting across from her, Natasha felt something she wasn’t sure she ever felt before in her life. While she had a few friends, and even fewer _good _friends, Eden felt different. Being with Eden, the raven-haired woman changed her, and she could sense that change from the moment they first hung out. She knew that if she could sense it, then others could. In fact, Clint made it his mission to keep pointing it out to her whenever he saw her, much to her annoyance, though deep down it made her happy to know that he noticed and cared to notice.

“Are you listening to me?” Eden asked, smiling and ignoring the blush that creeped up her face. Natasha shook her head, her face darkening to a deep scarlet that matched the same shade of Eden’s lips.

“I’m sorry. I was a bit…”

“Distracted?”

“Yeah.” Natasha laughed.

“You were staring at me.” Natasha kissed her hand and cupped her cheek.

“Does it bother you?” She couldn’t help but frown slightly. The idea of upsetting this woman in front of her, this beacon of light, hurt her more than she ever thought it would. Eden took her hand off her face and held it tight, squeezing it reassuringly.

“No, it doesn’t bother me, though I was wondering why.”

“Why what?” Eden’s face held an expression that she wasn’t familiar with and Natasha felt a little scared.

“Why you were staring.” Eden’s lips curled into a bashful smile and her eyes sparkled. Natasha’s mouth opened but she couldn’t speak. She sputtered and stuttered, and Eden giggled at her blush. “Is there something on my face? In my teeth?”

“No! No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just…you’re so beautiful.” Eden’s smile widened. “You are…the most beautiful woman on the planet, Eden and I can’t believe that…” she paused, and when she couldn’t bring herself to continue, Eden’s face fell and took her hand.

“What, sweetie? What is it?”

“I can’t say…”

“Why not?”

Natasha sighed and bowed her head. “I…I don’t want to overstep—”

“Jesus Nat, you can’t overstep more than me. I drunk kissed you and then drunk made out with you. I wouldn’t call it an overstep, that’s an over-leap.” Eden laughed and kissed Natasha’s hand. Natasha chuckled and took a small sip of her wine.

“I can’t believe that you’re mine. That you and I exist at the same time and that you are here with me having dinner. That you like me. God, I probably sound so sappy right now. Believe me, I’m not usually like this…”

“Oh, Natasha…do you think being sappy is a bad thing? It’s not, it’s sweet. So incredibly sweet. It’s endearing.” Natasha grimaced and Eden sighed, bringing her chair closer to Nat, and kissed her. “I understand that you’re not used to showing emotions and having those emotions returned on you, but I need you to know that being sweet isn’t a bad thing. Or something you should be ashamed of. I’m not telling you how to be or whatever. I’m not trying to pressure you into to being something that you’re not comfortable being. I just…I need you to know that you don’t have to be so guarded with me. Okay?”

Natasha nodded and stared at their intertwined fingers. She stayed silent for a while, just staring at their hands. Eden watched her, rubbing her thumb across her knuckles, a curious glint in her eyes. She allowed Natasha to sit in her silence, clearly out of her element, and just sat as a supportive anchor, keeping her grounded until it was time to go catch their movie.

Nat sat hunched in her seat, shifting every so often because of her discomfort. She felt it all night, from the moment they stepped into the restaurant. She wasn’t one for being in public spaces, and with her talk with Eden on opening up emotionally, well, she’s been weird all night. She didn’t blame Eden, there’s no way the poor girl would’ve known, but Natasha couldn’t help cowering when she felt Eden’s fingertips graze her bare shoulder.

Eden snapped her hand back and placed it in her lap. She heard Natasha release a shuddering breath and guilt crawled its way into her heart. Leaning over in her seat, she accidentally touched Natasha’s ear with her lips. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable…”

Again, Natasha didn’t speak. Eden focused her attention on the movie, trying her best to ignore the dull drumming pain in her chest caused by Natasha’s sudden coldness. She was confused…she thought she was making progress, that Natasha was opening up to her. She didn’t understand what she did or what she said to make her recoil back into her hardened exterior like this. She wished this movie would end so they could just fucking talk about what happened, but the end was nowhere in sight.

Tension extended the movie, keeping both women hostage longer than either of them wanted to be kept. Natasha played with her fingers and the hem of her shirt as her eyes remained glued to the screen. Her heart was pounding, ringing loudly in her ears and drowning out all other noise. She couldn’t concentrate on anything except the deafening sound of her heart and it drove her crazy. She was going crazy. So many things were happening and going through her mind and she couldn’t _fucking concentrate_.

Eden hands gripped the arm rest, resisting the urge to grab onto Natasha’s hand and she bit her lip. Hard. Drops of blood touch her tongue, spilling from the new very small incision on her lip, and Eden lets go, contorting her face in disgust while quietly muttering a curse word or two. She hoped Natasha hadn’t notice her, had kept her attention on the movie, but given the redhead’s profession, it was very likely, much to her dislike.

When the movie finally ended, both women hoped that the awkwardness and tension would fade on the way home, but as they sat in the car, stuck in heavy New York traffic, both the tension and the awkwardness only grew. Eden laid her head back against the headrest, her hands on the wheel and gearshift while Natasha rested her head against the window, her one hand at her side while the other sat in her lap. Eden glanced over at her, and then behind them when a large truck slammed on its horn, cutting roughly though the tension like a hot knife through butter. Natasha followed Eden’s gaze and furrowed her brows, scoffing and shaking her head as she turned back around.

“What an asshole. Where is he gonna go? Where is _anyone _gonna go?” Natasha sighed. Eden chuckled, relishing in the broken awkwardness and enjoying the fact that this was the first time Natasha had spoken since dinner.

“I know. Thinks he’s so important with his big ass truck. Like who does he think he is?”

“A guy trying to overcompensate for something…” Natasha giggled, blushing when Eden looked over at her. Eden laughed loudly and bit her lip to try to keep from laughing, but it didn’t work. Nat smiled, and when her companion settled down, she took her hand off the gearshift and intertwined her fingers. Eden’s eyes shot over at her, wide and curious and slightly fearful, and her blue/grey orbs shifted between her red face and their hands. Natasha only stared at their hands, her thumb running across her skin. “I’m sorry. For acting weird. I wish I could say that it wasn’t that bad, but…I ruined our date.”

“No, no, hey. No. You didn’t ruin our date, I did. I pushed too hard. I made you feel weird. And I’m sorry.”

“Eden.” She into Natasha’s eyes, a flash of sadness crossing them. “I’m…not mad about what you said in the restaurant. You thinking that I’m anything more than a heartless bitch…means so much to me and I’m not used to hearing things like that. From people that I…care about. I guess when you said them, they…I couldn’t stop thinking about it. You threw me for a loop, Eden. You always do, and it gives me whiplash. The way you look at me, the way you talk about me, gives me whiplash.”

“I’m sorry, I’ll stop—”

“No! That’s not—I don’t want that. I like how you see me. I’m just not used to it. Is all.”

“I’ll go as slow as you want me to. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” Eden looked down, keeping her hands conjoined, and Natasha leaned over, lifting her hand to her face, and kissed her. Eden melted into the kiss, her other hand coming up to cup Natasha’s cheek. They only broke away when another honk of the truck blared outside.

Natasha moved back to her seat, her face red and hot, and Eden covered her face with her hands while she giggled. Like Natasha, a deep red blush overtook her, turning her face as red as Natasha’s hair.

When traffic started to move again, and Eden pulled up outside of Natasha’s apartment, the brunette smiled at the redhead.

“So, this is you…” Eden whispered, touching her arm with gentle fingers. Natasha held out her hand, closing it and wrapping her fingers around Eden’s when she laid her hand down.

“I-I don’t…want you to go,” Natasha whispered, a sense of desperation lacing her voice. Eden smiled and chuckled, leaning in her seat closer to Natasha and kissed her forehead.

Resting her forehead on Natasha’s, she whispered, “Is this your way of inviting me inside?” Natasha giggled and turned her head away from Eden, but soon came back to her. “Of course, I won’t overstep…again. I’ll do whatever and go however far you want me to.”

“You’re gonna make me beg, aren’t you?” Both women laughed and Eden tipped Natasha’s face up for a kiss. “Alright, jeez. Will you please come in? I can make you something to…make up for dinner. Then, maybe we can watch a movie and…see where it goes?”

“Are you trying to recreate our date?” Eden giggled.

“The key word is ‘trying’.”

“Lead the way, baby girl.”


	10. Chapter 10

“Would you like something to eat?” Natasha asked as she entered into her apartment and rifled through her fridge and freezer. “I have…hot pockets, ramen, and…that’s it actually, hot pockets and ramen.” Eden laughed and followed her, leaning on her marble countertop.

“What kinds of hot pockets do you have?”

Natasha’s face scrunched as she looked through her freezer at the different types of hot pockets available. She had a large variety, though she tended to favor the pizza kinds. Philly cheesesteak was a close second though.

“Mostly pepperoni pizza, but there’s cheesesteak, ham and cheese, breakfast, I think there’s some taco left—”

“Pizza’s fine. That is if you don’t want to part with them.” Eden sent her a playful smirk and Nat looked at her with wide eyes. “And before you ask, no I’m not a stalker. You mentioned it to me once.”

“I never said you were a stalker…though you do act like it sometimes.”

They laughed and Eden rolled her eyes, pushing off the counter and walking towards her, wrapping her arms around her waist and kissing her neck. “When do I act like a stalker?”

“Just the way you pay attention to me. It’s like you hang onto my every word.”

“I do hang onto your every word. I like to listen to you talk. I like to hear your voice. I like getting to know you. You’re more interesting than you think, baby.” She pressed a kiss to Natasha’s cheek. “So, listening makes me a stalker—”

“I didn’t say that you _were _a stalker, you _act _like a stalker,” Natasha emphasized, pulling away to place two hot pockets into the microwave. “I also never said it was a bad thing.”

“You didn’t have to. Usually when someone calls another person a stalker, the negative connotation is implied,” Eden laughed, raising a brow and furrowing her brows. Natasha shook her head, pecked Eden’s lips and took their hot pockets out of the microwave, placing them on two different plates. She handed one to Eden, along with a fork, and smiled. Eden mumbled a thank you and gently blew on her food, watching the steam billow.

“Well, I didn’t mean it like that,” Natasha said, biting into her hot meal, hissing and waving at her mouth when the hot cheese and sauce touched her tongue. The soft skin started to blister, and she winced as what felt like a layer of taste buds burned off, leaving the underlying layer feeling raw. She giggled when Eden eyed her suspiciously, and mumbling with hot food still in her mouth said, “Careful, it’s hot.”

“I’ll watch out for that.”

“So,” Natasha finally swallowed and exhaled through her mouth. “What type of movies do you like?” She opened the fridge and pulled out two bottles of water, handing one to Eden, and took a sip, cooling her mouth.

“I’m good with anything. Anything you have.”

○○○

Eden stretched out on the couch, lying on her back between Natasha’s legs with her head resting on her chest in between her breasts while her head was turned to the right to look at the TV. Natasha’s hands were on her, holding her hand and running through her hair slowly, mindful of the small knots. While their eyes were trained onto the movie, neither of them were paying attention. Eden tuned her attention to Natasha’s heartbeat, counting the number of beats per minute, then five minutes, then ten. She listened to her breathing, trying to see how many breathes she took per heartbeat.

Natasha’s eyes moved between the TV and Eden’s hair, watching the passing lights of cars on the streets below dance over the strands, alighting it in a dark burgundy fire. Her eyes shifted down to her face, watching the way her eyelashes fluttered when she blinked or how her lips parted a little when a somewhat steamy scene in the movie came on, or how she licked her lips every couple of minutes to wet them because she was too lazy to reach into her pocket and grab her chap stick. A smile spread across her face when Eden moved their conjoined hands to her mouth, kissing her hand.

“You make me happy,” Eden finally muttered, cutting through their silence and the quipping dialogue of the movie. She tilted her head up, partially laying on her left boob, and looked at her as best she could, smiling and kissing her hand again. “Happier than I’ve ever been.”

“I think you make me happy too. I haven’t been happy in such a long time…how would I know what it feels like?”

“Baby…”

Natasha sat up on the couch, pulling Eden up with her, wrapped her arms around her waist tight, and pushed her long hair to the side. She caressed the skin of her neck and shoulder with her nose and nestled into the crook of her neck. She took a deep breath, inhaling her scent, and smiled when Eden’s hands fell to hers, holding her there.

They sat like that for a few minutes before Eden turned in her arms to face her, her legs circling around her waist to straddle her. Her hands went to Natasha’s back, pushing her closer, and Eden connected their lips. The kiss started off slow and sweet and gentle, but soon picked up speed and heat, turning rougher by the second. Eden’s lips moved against Natasha’s hungrily, her tongue licking against her bottom lip, asking for entrance. The redhead gave in, granting her what she wanted, and a deep guttural moan rumbled from her throat as Eden’s tongue caressed her own. Her hands slipped down from Natasha’s back to squeeze at her hips, then moved up to her breasts, caressing and groping them through the fabric of her shirt.

A sigh escaped Natasha’s lips as Eden touched her, a small fire burning in her stomach and pooling between her legs. Deepening the kiss, Natasha’s hands flew to the small of Eden’s lap, climbing higher and higher until her felt the clasp of her bra. Mindlessly, her fingers fumbled with the clasp, working it open through her shirt, but before she could undo it, Eden’s eyes snapped open and she pulled away from Natasha, breaking the kiss, and pushed her hands away from her back.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, now,” she breathed. “I never put out on the first date.”

Natasha laughed and pushed her hair back, resting her hand against her forehead, feeling heat flood her face. “Is it because I’m inexperienced?” She was joking, of course, but after she said the words, she realized part of her was incredibly serious.

Eden shook her head. “No. No, it has nothing to do with that. I wouldn’t sleep with you tonight if you were the most experienced person in the world. Sleeping with you now is treating you like a one-night stand or just some good fuck for a good short time. And that’s not what you are. Not to me. I want to treat you like how you should be treated, like how I hope to be treated: as a person worthy of love that has genuine interest.” Natasha looked down with a small half smile and Eden kissed her again, causing her to smile fully. “We’ll get to the sex eventually. If that’s what you want. But I want to know you better and wait until you’re comfortable.”

“You’re such a beautiful person, Eden,” Natasha whispered as she nuzzled Eden’s neck.

Eden smiled but pulled away and got up from the couch. “I should go. It’s getting late and I have to work tomorrow.”

The movie had been over for a few minutes and the credits were just finishing. She got her stuff and walked back to the couch, kissing Natasha once more.

“Despite the awkwardness, I enjoyed tonight. Thank you for the movie and the hot pocket.” Natasha smiled and kissed her again, refusing to let her go. “Goodnight, baby. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay.”

Eden walked towards the door, opening it and giving Natasha one last look before waving goodbye.

“Goodnight,” Natasha called as she closed the door behind her.


	11. Chapter 11

Natasha rolled over in her bed, groaning and pressing a pillow against her ear and face as someone pounded away at her apartment door. The sharp raps echoed through the quiet apartment, making them seem louder than they really were.

“Natty!” Clint called from out in the hallway, pounding once more on her door. “Natty! Natasha! I know you’re in there, Nat! It’s not like that one time when I had the wrong floor!” He pounded again, ignoring the annoyed, angry, and sleepy glares coming from her neighbors that had gotten up to see who was making so much noise at this hour. “Come on, Nat, open the door! I left my key at home!”

Natasha groaned louder, slamming her eyes shut, as she tried to ignore Clint’s incessant pounding. With each second that she laid in bed, the loud raps of Clint’s fists seemed to grow louder and louder, until Natasha couldn’t take it anymore. In addition to Clint’s shouting and pounding, she heard the more muffled yells of her neighbors pleading with her to open the door. With a loud, exasperated, and exaggerated sigh, Natasha threw off the covers and stomped out of her room to her door, throwing it open and sending Clint a glare.

“Morning, Princess,” Clint said, pushing Natasha aside and stepping into her apartment. He walked into her kitchen and started digging around in her pop tarts. Natasha glared at him more, crossing her arms over her chest. Clint took a pop tart, opened it and started eating it, looking back at her. “What? Did you just get up?”

Natasha ignored his question and sent him one of her own. “What the fuck are you doing here, Clint?”

“What? I can’t come and visit my best friend?”

“You call first, Clint. And don’t wake me the fuck up.”

“Well, like I said, I left my key at home. Figured you’d let me in…”

“You still call first, Clint. Especially since I didn’t answer right away.” She walked out of the kitchen and sat down at her dining table, the that was left by previous owners when she moved in and didn’t use because…well, she never needed to. She never had company and all her dinners were eaten on the couch while she watched _Brooklyn Nine-Nine_. “What if I wasn’t home? Or if something happened and I couldn’t come to the door? Would you just sit outside pounding away at my door, irritating my neighbors?”

“Probably not. I think at some point, I would’ve just kicked down your door and made myself at home and wait for you to get back.” He took another pop tart from the box and bit into it, Natasha glaring at him. She stood up and marched over to him, snatching the pop tart from his hand and stuffing it back in the box, before placing it on the counter.

“Can you not eat all my food? I haven’t gone food shopping in a while and I’m almost out.”

“Wow. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today…” Clint’s voice held a playful tone that only incited more frustration in Natasha.

“Considering that _you_ woke me up, count yourself lucky I haven’t ended your life. Keep in mind, the only reason you’re still living is because I love Laura too much to leave her alone with two young kids.” Though she was kidding, her harsh glare sent a wave of fear through the archer that had him recoiling and losing his playful tone.

“I’m sorry, Nat. Next time I’ll call.”

“You fucking better,” she grumbled, making herself a cup of coffee.

The mood in the apartment calmed down considerably since Clint first came, and after careful begging and apologizing, Nat made him a cup of coffee and gave him the rest of the pop tart that he started eating. As Clint settled on her couch, Natasha went back into her bathroom and threw herself together, brushing her teeth and brushing out the birds nest that was her hair, before finally sitting next to him with her coffee and a cereal bar. Her phone sat under her thigh on the couch, and as they ate and drank in near silence, a muffled tone rang out, alerting the both of them to the incoming message. Natasha picked up her phone and smiled when she saw who it was from.

**_Eden [8:24] _**Good morning, Beautiful! 😘🤗

Clint looked over at her, and feeling curious, stretched his head over to sneak a peek at her screen. Nat jerked her phone back and grimaced at him. Clint chuckled and held up a hand, signaling his defeat.

“What’s got you grinnin’ like the Cheshire Cat?” he asked, finishing off his coffee and wiggling his thin eyebrows. Natasha glared over at him before looking back at her phone, watching as three little dots appeared in the lower left corner.

**_Eden [8:25] _**How’s your morning going? Probably better than mine tbh

**_Nat [8:25] _**Clint stopped by. wouldn’t stop pounding on my door. thought my neighbors were gonna fuck him up 🙄

**_Eden [8:26] _**HI CLINT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Natasha giggled at Eden’s text, and Clint snapped his head over to look at her. _Did she just fucking _giggle_? _Catching his eyes staring at her, Nat looked over at Clint and muttered, “Eden says hi.”

Yes, Eden Clarke had met the childish Hawkeye and the two quickly got along. A few weeks after her and Eden’s first date, the two of them were just hanging out at Natasha’s apartment when Clint came barging in unexpectedly, and then ultimately stayed with the two of them once the awkwardness was out of the way. Since then, whenever the two of them were hanging out and he was free, Clint was called to join in on the fun. It was safe to say that Clint liked Eden and vice versa, and while her and Natasha hadn’t labeled anything yet, it made the redhead quite happy to see them getting along.

“Hi Eden!” Clint yelled with happy excitement as he sat up and wave at nothing in particular, like a dog wagging its tail. Natasha shook her head and began typing.

**_Nat [8:27] _**Clint saya hi

“So…” Clint mused, wiggling his eyebrows again, causing Natasha to groan. “Eden’s got you grinnin’? That’s so cute. You two are so cute.” Natasha winced slightly at the tone of his voice as his pitched heightened and grated on every one of her nerves, reminding her of when a person coos at their child.

“What are you even talking about?” 

“Eden. She makes you smile like a dork. Someone’s in _love_.” Much like his baby voice, Natasha bristled at the new sing-song lilt to his voice.

“I am not in love,” she muttered, turning her eyes back to her phone.

**_Eden [8:30] _**Work is driving me up the fuckign wall 😫 I really need to be rescued.

**_Nat [8:30] _**Whats going on with work?

**_Eden [8:31] _**my boss is beign a fuckign prick 😒

**_Nat [8:32] _**When’s your break?

**_Eden [8:33] _**Not until 12:30 😫

**_Nat [8:34] _**Tell you what. You tell your boss that you’re taking a long lunch and I’ll come steel you away. Give you some breathing room. Think you can make it?

**_Nat [8:34] _**Steal*

**_Eden [8:35] _**Will you bring lunch?

**_Nat [8:35] _**I’ll bring your favorite. Plus a little something extra for desert 👅🍑💦😏

**_Eden [8:36] _**Peach cobbler? My favorite 😋

**_Nat [8:37] _**So I’ll see you at 12:30?

**_Eden [8:37] _**Yes you will 😊

**_Nat [8:38] _**I’ll see you soon, baby

**_Eden [8:38] _**see you soon

“You know,” Clint said, looking over her shoulder to look at her phone, reading her messages, “for someone who claims they aren’t in love, you sure are acting like you’re in love.” Natasha shot a glare at Clint.

“I don’t love Eden. We’re just…” What the hell even _were _they? This is the downside to not fucking labeling anything. Were they dating? Were they just friends that sometimes-had hot make-out sessions that ended with out of breath kisses and light groping? Clint looked at her, expecting her to finish, to prove his assumption, but no matter what she said, it didn’t change anything; she was adamant that she didn’t love Eden. “We’re together. That’s it. On a scale of things, we’re probably not that far off from friends. But it doesn’t matter. I don’t love Eden.”

Her voice was strong and forceful and didn’t waver in the slightest, and Clint—though he cracked a smile of probable knowing—raised both hands in defense and slinked down the couch to his original seat. Natasha turned her phone screen off and placed it on the coffee table next to her empty mug, then she got up, taking both her mug and Clint’s, and walked into her kitchen to place them in the sink. She began washing them out when Clint followed her and leaned against the counter behind her.

“So, all humor aside, how are you and Eden? You two seem pretty serious…”

“We’re not labeling anything. We’re…testing the waters. But she’s good. We’re good.”

Clint smiled. “You like being with her?”

“Yeah, I guess. She’s good company, and whenever we’re together, everything feels peaceful or something…she makes me feel safe and secure. I don’t know, Clint. I’ve never dealt with this before. I’ve never been in a relationship before.”

“I know, Nat. It’s refreshing, you know. To see you act this way with someone.”

“Act what way?” Natasha turned around and raised her eyebrow, her hands perching on her hips.

“Happy.”

Natasha looked at the floor. She often thought about how Eden made her feel, and while she noticed that she felt happier when she was with the black-haired woman, she never once considered that it carried over to when they were apart, and she was reading a text. Or even thinking about her. A smile crept onto her face, a small one, hardly noticeable if someone wasn’t paying attention or used to seeing such signs from the redhead, but it was a smile, nonetheless.

“Yeah. I guess she does make me happy.”

“That’s good, ‘Tasha. You deserve to be happy, you know. And I’m glad that you found someone that can make you happy.” Clint smiled at her and stepped forward, pulling her into his arms for a tight hug. She chuckled and gave his torso a slight squeeze. “Oh! Now that I’m thinking about it, Sam owes me $50.”

Natasha peeled her head off of Clint’s chest and raised an eyebrow in question, though smiling. “Why?” Sam was notorious for making bets with the other team members. And losing.

“A while ago, after you had first started hanging out with Eden, he and I made a bet that you and she would end up dating. He bet that you two were just friends. Said, ‘I can’t see the Black Widow as a lesbian.’ Man, I can’t wait to put him in his place.” Clint laughed victoriously, sending the shockwaves of his laugh to rumble though him, reverberating into Natasha, causing her to laugh as well.

“He’s such an idiot,” she laughed, but then, she got an idea. A perfectly beautiful idea, that would certainly rile the archer up significantly. She loved ruffling his feathers more than anything. “You know, I told you…me and Eden aren’t _actually_ dating, right?”

“You know what, Nat? Get out of here with your facts.”

“It’s the truth though, Clint. You can’t get the money because you haven’t actually won yet.”

Clint froze for a moment, the gears in his mind turning as he though through the situation. Then his eyes brightened, and a smile slowly spread across his scruffy face. Man, did he need to shave. “You know, if you keep quiet, it would be the _perfect_ way to get Sam to shut the hell up.”

“Share the money with me.”

Clint sighed, though he was still smiling. “Fine.”

“Then Clint Barton, we have a deal.”

○○○

The rest of her morning went by fast, though not as fast as she would have like. At around nine, when Natasha figured that Clint wasn’t leaving anytime soon and going back to sleep wasn’t an option, she got dressed in her causal work-out gear, and her and Clint made their way to the Tower to get in some practice time to help the time fly.

Clint held firmly onto the punching bag, peeking out from behind it to look at Natasha. She ignored him, zeroing in on the bag in front of her. Her hands, tightened into fists, were held up in front of her face in a defensive position. Her mind reeled as she calculated her attacks, _strike here, punch there, kick there_. Her face was focused, only paying attention to her target.

“Nice, Nat,” Clint praised when her fist connected hard with the bag, sending him back a few inches. She huffed in response, hitting the bag again with more force. A shooting pain shot up through her hand, but she didn’t care; she was familiar with the pain.

Natasha panted and sweat dripped down her face and neck when her phone went off with the alarm that she had set when they arrived. She snapped out of whatever trance she was in, wiped her face, and relaxed her stance. Clint walked out from behind the bag and place a hand on her sweaty shoulder.

“How’d I do?” she asked, gathering her breath and placing a hand on her chest.

“Good. Could probably work a bit more on your kicks. The last ones seemed pretty sloppy.”

“How sloppy?”

“Just…your stance was kinda off. And when you landed, you were off balance. I could tell you weren’t focused and that you were rushing.”

Natasha nodded her head and took a big gulp from her water bottle. She swallowed with a sigh and dumped a little bit of water on to the back of her neck, helping to cool her off.

“Okay, well, thanks for the critique…wish I could stay longer, but I have just enough time for me to go home and take a shower before I have to leave to grab Eden’s lunch.” As the two of them walked out of the training room, Natasha felt relieved that she thought ahead and ordered their lunch early so that it would be ready by the time she left.

Clint dropped her back off at her apartment, and when she walked in, she ran towards her bedroom and threw open her closet doors. What did she even wear for this? Was it a date or were they just hanging out? They’ve hung out many times before and it wasn’t a date, so was this another time? Should she wear something nice or comfy?

“I’m wasting time,” she muttered to herself, and sighing, Natasha walked into her bathroom, figuring it was better to shower now and figure out what she would wear later.

About forty-five minutes later, Natasha’s phone rang with another alarm, and the redhead cursed loudly and hopped out of the shower, doing a shitty job at drying off her hair and body. She rushed, tripping on her pant leg as she tried to pull them up and falling on her face, but somehow still left her apartment on time. Speed walking down the street and to Dominique’s, Natasha’s heart pumped quickly. She took her phone out of her pocket, checking the time, and sent a text to Eden, letting her know that she was on her way.

It was twenty more agonizing minutes later when Natasha finally exited the subway and walked around the corner to Eden’s building. She walked in and past the reception desk where the secretary, Sarah, smiled when she saw her and waved her over. When Natasha walked closer to the desk, Sarah leaned up on the counter and crossed her arms. She was smiling but had an uneasy look about her that Natasha couldn’t place.

“Hey,” Sarah greeted her, “I’m _so _glad you’re here.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Let’s just say today’s been rough.”

“How is she?”

Sarah scoffed and shook her head. “She’s about to blow her fucking lid.”

“That bad?” Natasha raised her brows and frowned when Sarah nodded, a sad frown taking over. Over time and through spending time with Eden at her job or with her in general, Natasha learned that—on a good day—Eden _hated _her job. On a bad day, like today, Eden would often mutter threats about burning the building down with everyone locked inside as she walked away flipping them off. Natasha would always laugh, knowing that she would never do it, but being there on what she learned was a bad day, she could almost believe it.

Sarah, Eden often expressed, made being there worth it. When the slightly older dark-skinned woman first started, Eden was in charge of training her and the two got on quick. Eden didn’t have a lot of friends, and while that sounded unbelievably sad, she was fine with it. Despite her rather extroverted nature, Eden preferred to be by herself or with a small group of really close friends. Having Sarah as a friend allowed Eden to not blow the metaphorical gasket and when Natasha got to know her, she was grateful.

“Do you know where she is? It’s her lunch break and I’m here to help her relax,” Natasha said, a small smile and a flash of heat creeping onto her face. Sarah smiled too and gesture to the right, down a hallway where Eden’s workspace typically resided.

“Last I saw her she was in the bullpen.”

“Thanks Sarah,” Natasha said, waving goodbye and walking in the direction that Sarah sent her in.

Entering the main floor, dubbed the bullpen by other employees including Eden, Natasha’s soon found Eden. The black-haired woman was sitting at a desk off to the side of the room, her head hanging low with her hands shoved into her hair, grasping tight painful looking fistfuls. Though she was hunched over, Natasha could see the quick rise and fall of her chest and back and the slight tremble of her shoulders. When Eden picked her head up, her face was red, and her eyes glistened with tears. What scared Natasha about the sight was that she wasn’t sure if she was sad and crying or _angry _and crying.

Natasha had only seen Eden angry once and it wasn’t a pretty sight. To put it simple, Eden was downright _scary_ when she was angry. There are different levels of angry: there’s the violent type, the loud type, the hysterical type, and the calm type. Somehow, Eden managed to embody all of them, though she was the scariest when she was calm, scary enough to frighten the Black Widow.

Nat rushed over to Eden’s desk, and when she saw her coming, she sat up in her chair and held her arms out for a hug. Natasha enveloped her and Eden buried her face into her chest, nuzzling deep into her, and let her tears fall into her shirt.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Natasha whispered as she knelt down on the floor, putting herself more on her level. “What happened, baby?”

“I’ll tell you later. Right now I _need_ to get out of here.” Her voice was tight and strained, and Natasha didn’t fight her. She nodded, helped Eden gather her stuff, and walked her out of the building.

They rounded the corner and passed a few more buildings before Eden tugged on Natasha’s hand, stopping her and directing her to a park about half a block in the opposite direction. Sitting down on a metal bench, Natasha took Eden’s hand and worked out her tight fist, intertwining her fingers and giving it a gentle squeeze. Eden took several deep breaths and within a few minutes, the angry red tint in her face calmed down to a subtle pink, and after a few _more _minutes, she was somewhat back normal.

“I’m sorry about all that,” Eden whimpered, “I just needed to leave before I did something that would get me fired…or worse, something I’d regret.”

“So what happened?”

“Just some argument with a stupid Jeff that just…exploded and before I knew it, the entire bullpen and H.R. are ganging up on me telling me that I’m ‘acting like a bitch’ or that I’m ‘overreacting’. Fucking Jeff.” She ran a frustrated hand through her hair, causing it to stand up and ruffle in places, but not caring about how she looked at the moment. “Not to mention that for some reason my boss keeps breathing down my neck about a big account that I’m not even in charge of! I’m only _advising_ the person in charge, but he only talks to _me_. It’s annoying and I can’t breathe.”

Natasha drew her close, moving her hands to her hair, running her fingers through her ebony locks to soothe her and smooth down the places where her hair stood up. “Can I ask what the argument was about or is it too triggering right now?”

“I just work in an office with a bunch of sexist homophobic pricks…”

Natasha held her tighter, feeling her getting worked up some more, and kissed her cheek and neck. Eden sighed and relaxed into her hold. Her head fell back onto her shoulder and her hands grasped the hem of Nat’s shirt.

“Thank you…for everything. You literally made my day.”

“I think I can make it better.”

Eden lifted her head off Natasha’s shoulder and furrowed her brows, confused. Natasha smiled and held up the plastic bag that sat beside her on the bench behind Eden. When Eden still looked confused, Natasha rolled her eyes playfully and opened the bag, pulling out Eden’s favorite lunch: an Italian hoagie on toasted bread, with extra tomatoes, spicy yellow peppers, onions, and extra bacon. Eden’s eyes widened and an ecstatic smile formed, replacing whatever angry look took over her being.

“You brought lunch!” she exclaimed in a happy and sweet voice. Natasha laughed and kissed her cheek, handing her the sandwich.

“I promised, didn’t I?”

Eden pressed her lips to Natasha, giving her a quick loving peck. “Thank you.”

“Of course, baby.”

They ate in near silence, Natasha working hard to take Eden’s mind off her awful day at work, at least for the time being before she had to go back after her break. It made the redhead happy to see Eden’s mood improve and it made her even happier to know that she was the cause of her mood. As they sat and ate, Eden was no longer frowning and seething and all-in-all ready to snap, no now, she was smiling and laughing and the only red tint in her face was caused by her blush rather than her anger.

When it was time for her to return to work, Eden was in a much better state then when she left. Not wanting to lose any time with her, Natasha walked her back, and when they entered the small building, she eyed everyone in the bullpen with such ferocity that she hoped to silence anyone that may make any kind of comment the moment she left.

Sitting at her desk, Eden smiled, whispered a thank you loud enough for only Natasha to hear, and leaned forward, catching the redhead’s lips in a soft, quick peck. Natasha smiled, blushed and headed out of the small insurance company, taking the subway back to her apartment.

The dirty subway car jostled and rumbled on the underground track, blurs of orange light whizzing by creating hurls of fireballs that shot past the windows. Natasha rested her head against the window and took out her phone, opening Eden’s messages. Though she had just seen the black-haired woman a little over a half hour ago, she was slowly coming to realize that she missed her. Her apartment felt a little quieter and emptier whenever Eden left, or she would feel a little bit colder when Eden wasn’t touching her.

When she was with Eden, her good mood and everything positive about her seemed to spread to her, enveloping her, and allowed her to feel them as well. She noticed she was happier, more at peace, and her defenses broke, letting her to let go of her worries that the Black Widow carried and just let herself be Natasha.

But…when she was alone, the shadows of her past caught up to her and chased away the good feelings that Eden brought, and whatever persona she was with her vanished and she became the Black Widow once again.

Her fingers moved quickly over the digital keyboard, typing out her thoughts fast before she changed her mind, and when she was finished, she didn’t take the time to read over what she wrote, and instead hit send.

**_Nat [2:15] _**It’ll get better. Hope your day gets better 😘

She locked her phone and let it drop into her lap, releasing a long sigh. For some unexplained reason, her heart hammered against her chest, like it was trying to break out. This was the effect that Eden had on her, able to make her nervous without even trying. No one had that effect on her, and now knowing that someone did, it made Natasha even more nervous.

Her phone pinged, snapping her attention away from the passing fireballs, and she looked down. She unlocked her phone and automatically smiled when she saw Eden’s response.

**_Eden [2:20] _**Thank you for today. Youre the best 😍🙏 I’ll be over after work, dinner date? I’ll cook?

Unlike many times before, she didn’t freeze when confronted with Eden’s straightforwardness. Instead, she smiled, blushed, and typed again on her phone, biting her bottom lip.

**_Nat [2:20] _**It’s a date 😘


	12. Chapter 12

After Natasha got off her train, the thought of Eden coming over for a date was all Nat could and wanted to think about. She wouldn’t say she was nervous but judging from her pacing and checking multiple times to make sure that everything was in place, she clearly was.

Many times she walked to her fridge, checking to see if she had enough eggs, or to see how much milk she had left. Did she make sure to get the chicken so that Eden can make her favorite meal? Is that what Eden said she’d make? God, what if she made a fool of herself again? What if—

Two gentle knocks rang through the apartment, shocking Nat from her mental freak out. She quickly wiped the sweat from her brow before going to open it and let Eden in. The black-haired woman smiled and hugged Natasha before walking and making herself at home like she was used to doing.

“How was work?” Natasha asked, closing the door and walking over to her, wrapping her arms around her waist from behind. Eden chuckled and turned her head, kissing Nat’s cheek.

“Rest of work was fine. I could tell that Jeff wanted to spew some more shit, but after that glare you sent the entire bullpen, he didn’t dare open his mouth.” Natasha smiled.

“Good. I didn’t want him or anyone else to meet the Black Widow.”

Eden turned around and circled her arms around the back of Natasha’s neck. “You know I’ve met the Black Widow, right?”

Natasha laughed loudly and kissed her forehead. She pulled away and started walking towards the kitchen. Eden followed her and hopped on the island counter, watching as Natasha grabbed two glasses and a bottle of wine. Nat came up beside her, placed the glasses down and began pouring. Handing Eden her glass, she moved and stood in front of her and between her legs, her hands resting on the counter on either side of Eden’s legs.

“Oh baby, you have never _once_ met the Black Widow. If you have, you wouldn’t be alive right now.”

“Tell me. How is she different from Natasha?” Eden leaned in real close, her lips hovering above Nat’s, teasing her for a kiss. Natasha smirked and nuzzled Eden’s nose with her own.

“Well, for starters, she’s not as merciful as me. She isn’t as forgiving and holds a grudge for like ever. She’s much more dominant than me and when she’s in charge, you better listen to her and what she wants, or she’ll make you regret it.”

“What else?”

“Not only is she the one in charge, but she _likes _being in charge.”

“Really?” Eden bit her lower lip and raised her right brow suggestively.

“Oh yeah, she loves it. Helps her make up for the shit she had to go through early in life.”

Eden placed her glass down on the counter off to the side and brought her hands up, rubbed Natasha’s arms, and moved them to hang loosely around the back of her neck. Her smile was soft as well as her eyes and Natasha leaned forward more and pressed her lips to Eden’s in a soft and gentle kiss.

“I’m proud of you, you know.” Eden twirled a strand of Natasha’s hair around her finger. Natasha looked up at her into her eyes and frowned. “I’m proud that you didn’t let that life consume you. That you allowed yourself to become a better person. You’re such a good person, Nat. So good.

Natasha shook her head and pulled away, though she still stood between Eden’s legs. She rested her hands on the tops of her knees and hung her head, shaking it.

“I’m not good, Eden. I’ve got too much red in my ledger. I’m trying to wipe it out, but…can I wipe out this much red?”

Eden pulled Natasha back to her, resting her head against her chest, her own hand moving to cradle the back of Nat’s head, and kissed the top of her head right against her hairline. Natasha didn’t immediately return her embrace, her hands still sat against her knees, but only after a few seconds of Eden holding her did she return it, moving her hands from her knees to wrap around her waist.

“You are so good. So very, very good. And who said you had to wipe out the red by yourself? I would never let you go through that alone. I’ll help you. Let me help you.”

Natasha smiled and nuzzled deeper into her, kissing her right breast through her shirt. Tightening her hold, she squeezed her sides and picked her head up to look at her. The way Eden looked at her made a quake of guilt rumble through her. She knew that deep down, no matter how she felt for Eden or how Eden felt for her, that she didn’t deserve her.

All the people she killed, all the evil she did…how could she possible drag Eden into that life? What if someone from her past showed up looking for her? She couldn’t bare it if Eden got caught in the crossfire. She couldn’t bare it if she got hurt because of her. But what could she do? Eden was too far under her skin, too wrapped around her heart that she couldn’t just leave her. She was too attached now to just forget her and pretend that whatever they have never happened. But still she couldn’t shake this feeling of guilt or…worry—no, no it wasn’t guilt or worry. It was fear. She was afraid. Eden Clarke made her afraid.

“Baby? What’s wrong? Where did you go?” Eden asked, running her hands through her hair, tucking strands behind her ear as she went. Her voice as well as her face was soft, and her eyes held a worrying sadness that made Natasha’s heart ache. She answered with a smile—fake, of course—and held her just a little tighter, pressing her lips to hers.

“Nothing, I’m fine. Promise.”

Eden pushed her away and raised a disapproving brow. “Stop that.”

“Stop what?”

“Stop lying to me. Really, Natasha, how long have we been together?” Eden pushed Natasha away more and hopped off the counter, pacing the small kitchen space. “I mean, do you think I’m stupid or something? That I wouldn’t know when you’re lying to me? I know you, Natasha Romanoff. You can’t lie to me. I don’t care who you lie to or why, just…just don’t lie to me.”

Natasha walked over to her and took her back into her arms. “I don’t deserve you, Eden Clarke. I don’t.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You know my life, Eden. What I did. How could I possible deserve to have you when I’ve done all those things?” She paused, taking a breath, and licked her lips. “You know I would never forgive myself if you got hurt because of my past, my demons. That’s the last thing that I want. And I’m afraid. Afraid that my worst nightmare will come true. Ever since joining SHIELD, my one fear was getting close to someone on such an intimate and personal level, and then having that ripped away because someone that I hurt in my past came after me looking for revenge. And up until I met you, I didn’t really have to worry about that becoming real. Now…now, that’s all I think about. You scare me Eden, in the best possible ways, because me having this fear means that I truly feel something for you. I know it’s frustrating to not know where we stand, but I promise that there is something. I just…”

She hung her head in defeat, losing her words and her train of thought. Never had she confessed her feelings and thoughts like that before, but it felt nice. Nice to have someone to be open to without fear of judgement or hate. She knew no matter what Eden would never judge her for anything that she said, and that feeling made her feel warm. Eden stepped into her and pulled the shorter woman into her, bending her head down to lay on top of hers. She placed a kiss on her hair and buried her nose into the bright red locks while holding her tighter.

“Hey…nothing is gonna happen. Okay? No one is coming for you or for me. I’m fine, baby, and so are you. We’re fine. And you know I don’t care about what you did right? If I did, I wouldn’t be here.” Eden kissed her forehead and grasped her hair, giving a sharp tug to get her attention. “And let me tell you something, Romanoff, I don’t care if you deserve me or not. Being with you is _my choice_, not yours. Got it? That doesn’t matter. What matters is what _I _want. And I want you.”

She bent her head down and kissed Natasha, cupping her face. She moved fiercely against her, her kiss hungry and passionate, only growing more heated when Eden’s tongue thrusted into her mouth and Natasha moaned as Eden’s tongue caressed her own.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, their lungs screaming at them to breathe, but they didn’t listen. Eden took charge and backed Natasha up until her back hit the counter. It was then that the harsh contact snapped Natasha back to reality, and the redhead broke the kiss and bit her lip as her face turned an endearing shade of pink.

“I’m sorry…” Eden whispered, laying her forehead against Natasha’s.

“Don’t be.” Natasha licked her lips and looked into Eden’s grey eyes blown wide and open with lust. Nat shivered knowing that she taller woman was 100% holding back. She blinked and cleared her throat. “We should probably start on dinner…”

“Yeah totally.”

○○○

Cooking dinner went smoothly, though because Natasha couldn’t cook, she took Eden’s place on the island and watched as Eden worked, occasionally helping with little thing like chopping vegetables or washing a dish. Natasha didn’t mind though, she liked to watch Eden work. She didn’t understand how something so domestic could be so…sexy.

Her green eyes stayed glued to Eden the entire time, watching as she moved around the kitchen like it was second nature to her. Every few minutes or so, Natasha’s eyes would slip downward, and the assassin had to snap herself out of it, tearing her eyes from the raven-haired woman’s ass.

“I know you’re staring at me…” Eden said, looking over her shoulder and casting a smirk Natasha’s way.

Natasha smiled and rolled her shoulders, sitting up, and continued to stare at Eden’s backside. The plump flesh moved when she did, giggling in just the slightest way that seemed to hypnotize her, keeping her focus, beaconing her to come and touch, perhaps…squeeze.

“Is that a bad thing?” Natasha quipped, returning Eden’s smirk with her own, though she couldn’t see. Her lip stayed speared between her teeth and her eyes darkened as they stayed focus on her.

“No. Not really. It’s just hard to focus on dinner when I can feel you staring right through me.”

“Can’t help it. You know how sexy you look right now?”

“I can imagine.”

Natasha leaned forward on the counter and Eden turned around and laughed when she saw the starstruck goofy grin on her face. Going back to her cooking, Eden tried to ignore Nat’s constant staring, though much like Natasha’s wandering eyes, Eden’s thoughts wondered just the same. She never moved her head, but Eden’s eyes kept glancing in Natasha’s direction, moving to the right as if to look at her. She released a quiet shaky breath and hoped to settle her nervous heart. _“Be still my beating heart…”_

“By any chance,” Natasha began, getting off the counter and sauntering up behind Eden, “is dinner almost ready?”

“In a moment…” Eden breathed nervous breaths, growing all the more anxious as Natasha crept closer.

Her heart stopped in her chest when Natasha stood directly behind her, her hot breath hitting the back of her neck, making the little hairs stand on end. Her breath hitched when she felt the hot touch of Natasha’s fingers grazing against her skin, skimming down her arms and sides, around her waist, and further down to cup and squeeze gently the supple flesh of her backside. Natasha hummed, her fingers digging into her skin and despite the thick fabric of her work pants, she could still feel her.

Natasha leaned up and rested her chin against Eden’s shoulder and slowly thrusted her hips to meet Eden’s ass, and her smirk grew when Eden gasped at the contact. The taller woman’s hands gripped the counter tight, her knuckles turning white. Eden bit her lip and released the breath that she didn’t know she was holding, her hands moving from the counter when she collected herself to touch Nat’s, removing them from her and wrapping them around her waist.

She turned her head and caught Nat’s eyes and gave her a small smile. “It’s not you. I’m just…not used to that.”

“I’m sorry.” Natasha hugged Eden tighter and kissed the back of her shoulder. Eden smiled and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of Natasha’s embrace, and after a minute, she opened her eyes and cleared her throat.

“Dinner’s ready,” she said, stepping away from Natasha. “Can you set the table while I get everything settled?”

“Yeah sure.”

Natasha moved away from her and took out two plates and two forks from a cupboard and drawer before placing them on her dining table. Next, she grabbed their glasses and the bottle of wine they were sharing, placing each glass in front of each plate and after refilling each glass, placed the bottle in between and away from them at arm’s length. She smiled when Eden came in with a pan of baked chicken simmering in a cheese and red sauce and placed it on the table.

Helping her, Natasha entered the kitchen and brought in a bowl of mashed potatoes and a small bowl of vegetables. They were mostly for Eden, because while the only had dinner a few times together, it was enough to learn that Natasha didn’t like vegetables of any kind except for the various forms of potatoes.

They sat next to each other and Eden dished out the food, waiting patiently for Natasha to taste. The redhead wasn’t new to her cooking, though every time she cooked for her, Eden always grew nervous, like she was afraid that Natasha wouldn’t like it. But, when Natasha cut into her chicken and smiled when she took a bite, all doubt left her.

“You’ve outdone yourself,” Natasha said, mouth full of food and little bits of food falling out as she spoke, causing the two of them to laugh.

“Chew and swallow before you talk,” Eden playfully scolded, “and I wasn’t trying to outdo myself I just wanted to impress you.”

“So you’re competing with yourself. Same thing.”

“Whatever.” Natasha chuckled at her and took another bite of food. “Do you really like it?”

Natasha put her fork down and grasped Eden’s hand, turning her worry-filled grey eyes over to look back into bright green ones. She interlocked her fingers with Eden’s and brought their hands up to kiss the back of her hand.

“I love it.”

Eden beamed a bright and beautiful smile that sparkled and lit up the entire room, making Natasha melt at the heat of her smile. It was a smile that she would want to see over and over again, for the rest of her life. Eden squeezed her hand and flicked her eyes down to their hands and then back up to Natasha’s eyes, her beautiful grey irises darkening with her growing lust, and while she wanted to act on it, oh how she _desperately _wanted to act on it, she slammed on the breaks of an already stopped car.

She kissed the back of her hand again but let it fall limp on the table. Picking up her fork, she began eating again, and every time her eyes glanced up at Natasha, she grinned, its radiance almost matching her smile, and her cheeks burned as she blushed.

“It really is good,” Natasha said, turning Eden’s attention back to her. Nat’s eyes shown with sincerity and Eden’s blush darkened and sent a small rush of heat through her.

“I’m glad you like it.” Natasha returned Eden’s smile and looked back down at her plate, continuing to eat. One of the things that she was growing to love beside Eden’s radiant smile was knowing that _she _caused that smile to come into bloom. Seeing that smile made any bad thing Natasha was experiencing disappear and instantly made her all the happier. That smile could light up the room if they turned out the lights and closed the blinds, it was so bright. And that was all she wanted to see from her.

The silence died down and the two of them fell into their usual goofy conversations, reciting old inside jokes that more often than not made fun of the other person, and when they were finished eating and couldn’t eat anything anymore (Natasha decided to make a fool of herself and eat three entire helpings), they migrated to the couch where they just cuddled watching whatever random Netflix show they could agree on.

Halfway through an episode of “Schitt’s Creek,” Natasha—laying in Eden’s lap—groaned loudly and rolled over, almost falling onto the floor.

“What’s wrong with you?” Eden asked, smiling and bending her head down a bit.

“It’s too hot and I’m soooo bored!”

“So, what’re you gonna do about it?”

Natasha sat up, eyeing Eden with a naughty smirk. Tucking a strand of her own hair behind her ear, Natasha bit her lip and pouted, reaching forward to play with the ends of Eden’s hair. Eden giggled, feeling slightly ticklish by the grazing of her nimble fingers.

Sitting up more on the couch and moving to sit in Eden’s lap, Natasha wrapped her legs around her waist and straightened her back, making herself appear taller than the black-haired girl. She kissed her face lightly, gingerly, as if she was afraid to actually touch her, all the while ignoring her waiting lips. Eden whimpered, wanting nothing more than for Natasha to finally kiss her. As if reading her mind, Natasha moved her lips to Eden’s starting off the kiss gently, but then she felt cocky and bit down on her lower lip and pulled away, bringing her lip with her.

Eden hummed at the gesture and closed her eyes. She felt the butterflies form in her stomach as she felt Natasha’s calloused hand slip down her body and rub against her thigh. Eden bit her lip and closed her eyes, subtly lifting her hips up to bring Natasha’s hand closer to where she needed it. Natasha chuckled and moved her hand farther up her thigh to her waist if only to annoy her.

“Stop teasing me,” Eden breathed, her breath hitching with need, a sharp pulse of desire coursing through her.

“I’m not teasing,” Natasha replied, her tone and voice light with, well, teasing.

“Yes, you are.”

Natasha shifted her lips to suck on Eden’s neck, leaving sloppy wet marks upon her pulse point. She pushed her fingers under Eden’s shirt and brushed them against the smooth skin of her stomach, going out of her way to tickle her as she went along. She chuckled when Eden complained under her breath.

“Maybe I am.” Slipping her hand from her stomach, Natasha moved her hand back down to her thigh, trailing to the inside and over her hot center. Eden moaned softly, her breath a light exhale as Natasha slowly rubbed against her through her pants, probing just the slightest. Eden jolted, shifting her legs and bucking her hips up into Natasha’s hand, and Nat laughed. She laughed at the way Eden’s back arched into her, taking pleasure in the way she was able to make the taller woman feel. “You okay?”

“Y-Yes…”

Natasha rubbed harder and a bit faster, smirking when Eden arched more into Natasha’s hand. Her breathing quickened and her eyes shot open, gazing at her with wide blown eyes. A bright lustful blush spread across her cheeks, and as Natasha continued to rub her and brought her closer to her climax, her breathing stuttered and came out in short breathless gasps. She was getting closer and closer, and Eden smiled, biting her lip to stop it from spreading, but Natasha caught it. _Right _before her euphoria hit her, Natasha pulled away and captured Eden’s lips in a hot and feverish kiss, leaving Eden a little disoriented.

When Eden realized what had happened and as she settled down, she groaned in frustration and pouted when Natasha pulled away and circled her arms around the back of her neck, playing with her hair.

After a few minutes of silence and gazing into each other’s eyes, Eden erupted into a fit of loud obnoxious laughter that eased a similar laugh out of Natasha. Eden laughed so hard that her muscles in her stomach folded in on itself and she leaned forward, collapsing into Natasha’s arms and buried her face into the crook of her elbow, still roaring in laughter. Natasha leaned her head down on Eden’s head, placed a couple of kisses to her hair, and cuddled her, her chest vibrating with her own laughter and Eden’s.

“Why do you insist on teasing me?” she asked, her fingers playing with the hem of her shirt. Natasha smiled at the humor in her voice and kissed her head again.

They laid in silence, Eden listening carefully to the thump of Natasha’s heart while Natasha played with strands of Eden’s long black hair, twirling it around and around her finger. Nat inhaled deeply and released it, her breath steady and somewhat slow.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Natasha broke the silence, staring at a spot on the wall, avoiding Eden’s eyes as she looked up at her. Ignoring the fact that Natasha was now fidgeting way more than normal and that her heart was beating faster than Eden would’ve liked, Eden knew that the Black Widow was nervous, though she probably would never _ever _admit it. Eden didn’t press her though. She looked at Natasha, paying attention to her, and waited and hoped that Nat would explain what was on her mind.

“Yeah sure.” She sat up and turned around, taking Natasha’s hand, running her thumb over the surface of her hand. “What’s up?”

Natasha sighed and stared at their hands. “What—What…are we?”

“What do you mean?”

“…What are we? Like are we just friends? Are we dating? Is this like a friends with benefits sort of thing?”

Eden’s cheeks turned a bright rosy color and she briefly looked away. “What…what do you _want _us to be?”

“I uh…umm…”

“Nat?”

Natasha’s mind went blank. She knew what she wanted; she wanted Eden. But what would she do if Eden didn’t want the same thing as her? What if she was just projecting her feelings, making more of their relationship than what was really there. Eden looked at her, her grey eyes gentle and expecting, waiting for her to speak, but Natasha didn’t know if she could. She never had to worry about expressing feelings before because she never felt this way for someone before.

“Nat, what’s up, baby?”

“I…I…” she sigh, leaning back a bit, and brushed her hand through her hair, feeling an overwhelming sense of frustration at whatever was hindering her from expressing her feelings. “This is ridiculous, there’s no reason why I can’t do this,” she whispered under her breath. “I want you, Eden. I don’t want to be just friends or friends with benefits. I want to call you mine, to want you to be the last thing I see at night and the first thing I see in the morning. I want to make you breakfast in bed or laugh with you while you make dinner. I want to stay up all night talking to you, telling you things I’ve never told other people. I want to trust you with my life and come home to you when I complete a mission. I want to be your one and only; I want to be your girlfriend and I want you to be mine.”

Eden looked shocked. Her heart stuttered before getting back on its regular track. She watched as Natasha’s face grew to a bright red and she looked away, preferring to stare at the wall or literally anything besides Eden’s face.

“I want to be able to show you off to others and say, ‘that’s right, this beautiful creature is mine.’ I want you, Eden. That’s all I ever want.”

“Oh Natasha…” Eden said, shifting into her lap and cupping her cheek. Her face darkened, and a bright happy grin spread across her face, reaching her eyes, and her grey irises sparkled with happiness and unshed tears. “You have no idea how happy this makes me. I want all that too. I want you to be my girlfriend, too. In fact, I was hoping you’d say that. So…will you do me the honors? Of being my girlfriend?”

“Like you even had to ask,” Natasha smiled and kissed her, wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug when they broke the kiss. Her smile was huge, and her face was starting to hurt, but she didn’t care. She was so happy right now that she couldn’t believe it. In all her life, she had never felt such happiness. In all her life, she had never felt _so much _happiness.


	13. Chapter 13

Six blissful months passed since Natasha and Eden confessed their inevitable feelings for each other, and they were happy. While she hadn’t officially moved into Natasha’s apartment, both of them thought it easier for the raven-haired woman to keep some of her clothes and toiletries over just in case she ever needed it, since she stayed the night so much anyway.

Since their proclamation, the two of them were more open with their relationship; they went on more dates and Natasha introduced Eden to the team, smirking when Sam’s face dropped and turned into a frown when Clint let out a loud whoop and demanded his money.

Introducing her to the team was fun and admittedly not what Natasha had expected. While she didn’t really care what they thought of her, they were the closest thing she had to family, so it meant a lot that they approve of Eden and herself. They were getting back from a date and because it was the middle of summer, the night was warm and beautiful, and Eden begged Natasha to take a walk before they sheltered themselves in her apartment for the night. They walked close together, hand-in-hand, and with Eden’s head resting on Natasha’s shoulder.

She hadn’t even realized that she was heading in the direction of the Tower, but when they reached the front doors, Eden lifted her head off her shoulder and looked up in curiosity, gasping when she saw the large bright “A” that shone in the night above them.

“You work _here_?” she had asked, gaping at Natasha, and feeling slightly annoyed at not knowing this information beforehand. Natasha shrugged and looked at her reflection in the darkened glass.

“You know that I’m an Avenger…”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think you worked _here_.”

“It’s not that big a deal…”

“Natasha…this is the Stark Tower, the _Avengers Tower._ It’s probably the most exclusive and mysterious building in all of New York. Security is _so _tight that I heard there are different badges that permit people coming in only on certain days.”

Natasha laughed and shook her head. Oh, how she wanted to tell Eden that she was wrong, but…that rumor was in fact true. It wasn’t always like that, but once Stark was working on some new gadget that Natasha didn’t pay any mind too, it wasn’t really important what it was or what it did, but some lab assistant snuck in after hours and stole it. They were caught trying to sell it. Since then all non-Avengers personnel were given new I.D. badges that deactivated at night, and only worked on certain days so that not every worker was in the building at once.

“I know that look. What’s that look for?” Eden arched an eyebrow and stepped closer to Natasha. Her eyes were still wide with surprise and she was bouncing a bit on her heels.

“Nothing.”

Eden looked a minute before she gasped again. “We should totally go in!”

Natasha gaped at her, biting her lower lip. Eden, seeing her hesitation, grasped her hand and forearm and swung it back and forth while pouting, forcing her bottom lip out more for a more dramatic affect.

“Please Natasha? I want to see where you work.” Natasha stared at her, challenging her puppy pout with a stern look, but the longer she looked into Eden’s pitiful grey eyes, the more she felt her resolve starting to break. Finally, after another moment, Natasha blinked and cursed under her breath.

“Damnit. Fine. We can go in for a quick tour, and then we leave.”

“Yay!”

Natasha chuckled at her and shook her head, pulling out her I.D. from her purse. “You’re a child. You know, that right?”

“You’re just jealous ‘cos I’m awesome.”

Natasha laughed louder and held the door open for her. “Maybe, but you’re also a dork.”

Eden smiled and pecked her lips. “I’ll take it because you said I’m awesome.”

Eden eyed the dark lobby of the Tower with an intense look of fascination. While it was dark, she could still make out the elaborate décor. Natasha tapped her shoulder and led her over to a check-in where she scanned her I.D., passed through the mini-metal detector, and then passed Eden her I.D. for her to do the same. When they both passed and stood on the other side, Natasha took her hand and led her to the elevator.

“Good evening, Ms. Romanoff. Where would you like to go?” the voice of FRIDAY spoke out through the speakers, bringing the elevator to life. Eden jumped at the sound of the A.I.’s voice, but Natasha only smiled.

“Training room, sixth level, please FRIDAY.”

“I’m sorry Ms. Romanoff, but there is an unauthorized presence.”

“It’s okay, FRIDAY, she’s with me.” Natasha looked over at Eden who had tucked herself into the corner of the elevator and looked down at her feet. She met Natasha’s gaze, and when she did, Natasha gave her a small smile.

“Very good, Ms.” FRIDAY responded, and the elevator lifted. Eden marveled at the numerous numbers that flashed on the screen as they passed floor after floor.

“I thought you said the sixth floor,” Eden whispered, leaning closer to Natasha. The redhead chuckled and kiss her cheek.

“No, baby. There are way too many floors here to go by floor number, so each level is about three floors.” Eden’s eyes widened and Natasha nodded. “Yeah, I know, but when you see what this building consists of and how many people come in to work here, it doesn’t seem so big. In fact, some days it’s actually claustrophobic.

“So…how many levels are there?”

“Hmm…I’d say there’s about ten. First there’s the lobby, then the next couple of floors are mechanics labs. That makes up the first level. Then there are a few floors in charge of developing and studying different weapons both man-made and alien. That’s the second level. The third level is a miniature SHIELD base where more personal agents monitor threats and malicious activities all around the world. The fourth level is mostly just conference rooms, break rooms, and the cafeteria where agents, scientists and engineers, and even Avengers go to socialize when on break, and eat meals, or have special meetings like debriefings after missions. The fifth and sixth levels consist multiple fully functioning training rooms, though they each have a different purpose. The fifth level training rooms are more for the agents. That’s where they practice shooting and combat, as well as testing new weapons. The sixth level is more for the Avengers to work out and practice as a team. The training rooms on this level are more modified to fit the needs of our more…super powered teammates.”

“Like that Maximoff girl?” Natasha nodded. She wasn’t surprised that Eden knew who she was, most people did. Ever since it was announced that she had joined the team, she had been all over the news as the subject of many heavy debates.

“And her brother.”

Eden nodded, and from the look in her eyes, Natasha could tell that she wanted to say something but was refraining. She nudged her with her arm and twitched her eyebrow up.

“I know there’s something else. Spill.”

“Is she…Is she…okay?”

“What do you mean by okay?”

“Like…good?”

Natasha sighed and rubbed her face with her hand. She couldn’t say that her question had shocked her, especially since her only knowledge of the girl was from the “news”, but what did shock her was that she didn’t really have an answer. She knew that Wanda was sorry for the things that her and her brother had done in the name of Ultron and even HYDRA, and that she regretted hurting those that she called her teammates deeply, but…was she good? Would she ever truly get over the emotional side of her that tempted to rain fire down on them with a single flick of the wrist?

Natasha thought hard over this, weighing her biases and the actual fact of Wanda’s improvement. Though she hadn’t really forgiven Wanda or forgotten her actions, the two were on much better terms than before, and Natasha was thinking that…maybe she and the little witch could be…friends. At some point. So maybe she was good. Afterall she agreed to join the team to help her and her brother atone for their mistakes, and a bad person wouldn’t do that, right? Nat looked over at Eden again, smiled a little and nodded.

“Yeah. Yeah, she’s good. She was just a scared and angry little girl who just wanted to protect herself and her family and also hurt those that hurt her. She’s a good kid that’s just known a little too much pain.”

The relief and sympathy that graced Eden’s soft features warmed Natasha’s heart, and the taller woman leaned over and kissed Natasha’s cheek, still smiling.

“Sounds like you’re fond of her.”

“She just needs guidance. Part of me wants to be that for her.”

“It’s cute. This side of you.”

“Shut up,” Natasha chuckled, pushing Eden’s shoulder a bit.

“So…what are levels seven through ten?” she asked, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

“Basically, just common rooms and living quarters for the Avengers. Plus, a patio and recreation room and some other room where Tony likes to host parties and stuff.”

“You need all those floors for that?”

“Oh yeah. The living quarters are _huge_. Think of my apartment, the size, now think of that for _every Avenger_.”

Eden laughed. “I don’t believe you. You’re overexaggerating.”

“No, I’m not. Just wait.”

Natasha bypassed the training rooms completely and directed FRIDAY to just take them to the living quarters. Her green eyes flickered with impending victory, and when the doors opened on that floor, she led her down to where she knew her old room was. Scanning her I.D. against the scanner, the door opened, and easing a smirk on her face, she gestured Eden to go into the room. The taller woman stepped in, sticking her tongue out at her as she passed, but when she was fully in the room, her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open. Natasha stepped inside, folding her arms over chest, a knowing and victorious smile spread across her face.

She started to walk around, still star-struck, and when she came back to the front room and looked at Natasha, the redhead smiled, showing her white teeth and said, “Told you so.”

“I-I thought you were kidding. Or exaggerating. You do that a lot.”

Natasha shrugged again and sat down on the couch. Eden joined her and cuddled into her.

“So, this is your apartment?”

Natasha nodded.

“Yeah.”

“Why don’t you live here? Why have your own apartment?” Natasha looked at her and shrugged.

“I couldn’t stand on being here, I guess.”

“Why?”

“At the time when we first moved in, I was dating another SHIELD agent.” She took a deep breath and held Eden tighter. “It didn’t last long, and it didn’t mean anything, but when we broke up, it was too awkward and painful to stay.”

“I didn’t know you dated before me. I thought you said that I was your first.”

“You’re the first relationship that matters. Me and Sharon—that was her name—we weren’t a good match. It was right after Loki’s attack, and I told her ahead of time that I was new to this and that I wasn’t comfortable. She assured me that what we were doing was more casual and low-key; we hung out a lot and went out on what I guess were dates, we would sleep in the same bed, but all we did was cuddle and hold each other to help us sleep. Occasionally we would kiss, so I thought we were fine…but I soon realized that she was growing…attached.”

“Attached?”

“Yeah. She started falling for me, and when she tried to tie me down and put a label on what we had, I felt uncomfortable. I felt restricted and trapped, so I shared my discomfort with her—because I trusted her—but she got…angry with me. She started yelling at me, accusing me of leading her on and wasting her time. I tried to be rational, but she freaked out on my and demanded I give her something that I wasn’t comfortable with.”

Natasha paused and wiped a small tear from her eye. Eden curled up against her and kissed her cheek. She took her hand, their fingers wrapping around each other, and she kissed her hand.

“I never felt anything real for her. Not what I feel for you. It was more passion than anything, perhaps even excitement. Neither one of us had much dating experience, so it was nice to have someone. And maybe I did feel something for her, but…when she forced me to choose, whatever it was burned up and all that remained was a deep anger. I _hated _her.”

“So, you left her…”

“I couldn’t be trapped, Eden. Not again. After that, I kept seeing her in the Tower outside of training and it was too painful, for both of us. So, I talked to Tony and he hooked me up with my apartment. That way, I could escape to my own personal place without worrying about running into Sharon.” Natasha sat up, her arms and elbows pressing into her thighs. She sighed and warmed up when Eden laid a gentle hand on her back.

“It’s okay, you know. Doing something for yourself. Sometimes you _need _to do what’s best for yourself, and obviously Sharon wasn’t good for you if she made you feel so constricted.”

Natasha looked over at Eden, catching her gentle tone slipping and becoming more strained, as if she was getting jealous. Nat smiled and sat up, wrapping her arm around Eden’s waist to pull her closer to her, and nuzzled her nose into her straight black hair.

“I don’t deserve you, you know that?” she mumbled into her hair.

“You can say that all you want, but it’s not gonna change a thing.”

The two women giggled and cuddled deep into the couch. Eden swung her legs up onto the couch, shifting them under her, and kissed Natasha’s cheek. It wasn’t long before they were found out, leading to an awkward extensive introduction of Eden to the other Avengers.

Like she expected, Steve was happy to meet her, shaking her hand with a bright smile that told everyone exactly what he was thinking and feeling. Tony also wasn’t surprising. He and Bruce were working in one of the labs when Natasha came parading in with Eden. Bruce was more nervous with meeting her, but once they got talking, he started to smile and open up to her. Tony gave her a wave, but quickly went back to his work.

Clint, having already knew Eden fairly well, smiled a warm smile and gave her a tight hug. Wanda…Wanda was the only one that didn’t seem to approve, not that Natasha blamed her. When Eden introduced herself, Wanda gave her a meek smile, nodded her head, and left the room, head down and arms folded. Pietro was like all the rest, happy to meet her, and settled with making slightly funny jokes and annoying innuendos. After a few minutes though, he left and went after Wanda. It was nice to have the approval of her teammates, though she didn’t need it.

○○○

Natasha kicked her feet up on her coffee table and leaned back into the plushness of the sofa. Eden strolled in from the kitchen, holding two mugs: one of tea and one of hot cocoa. She set them down on the coffee table, wary of Natasha’s legs, and then sat down on the couch next to her, snuggling into her.

Natasha smiled and kissed the top of her head.

“I have to tell you something…” Natasha whispered, laying her head on Eden’s hair.

“What’s that?” Eden reached forward and grabbed her mug, wrapping her fingers around the ceramic, letting the warmth flood into her.

“I need you to look at me. It’s…serious.”

Eden glanced at her, put her mug down, and turned towards her on the couch, crossing her legs under her. She rested her hand on top of Nat’s and gave her a small smile. “What’s going on, Nat?”

“I have to go.”

“Go where?”

“On a mission. I can’t tell you where I’m going.”

“How long will you be gone?” Eden asked, her eyes holding a subtle amount of fear and worry.

“It’s uncertain, however long it’ll take, but it’ll probably take a couple of months.” Eden teared up, her face contorting in fear. Her body started to tremble as she tried to hold back her sobs, but when Natasha pulled her into a tight hug, she couldn’t hold the tears back anymore. Burying her face into Nat’s shirt, Eden started to cry, her tears running hot down her face and soaking into Natasha’s shirt.

Natasha frowned and felt her heart rip in half. She never liked seeing Eden upset, and it hurt her even more to know that she was the cause of her pain. Eden’s sobbing grew a little bit louder, her body trembled, and soon Natasha felt the tears form in _her _eyes.

“Hey now, come on. Don’t cry, baby. It’ll be okay,” Natasha said, her voice wavering as she tried to keep it together. She knew she couldn’t fall apart, not right now, not when Eden was like this. Her bottom lip trembled and the lump in her throat burned and tightened.

“I-I don’t want y-you to g-go!” Eden cried, her body shaking more as her sobbing didn’t relent.

“I know, baby, but I have to. It’s my job.”

“B-But what if you d-don’t come b-back!”

“Eden…” Natasha broke away for a moment and looked at her, tears pooling in her bright green eyes that refused to fall. She cupped her cheeks and brushed her thumbs under her eyes and over her cheeks to wipe away her tears, though they kept coming.

Eden grasped onto Natasha’s hands, holding her tightly, afraid that if she let go for even the smallest of seconds, that Natasha would disappear and never come back. Natasha held her tighter, rubbing her back and running her hand through her hair, trying to calm her down. Eden continued to cry into Natasha’s chest, and after a few more minutes, her sobs quieted until the only sound coming from her were soft hiccups and sniffling, and yet, Natasha still held onto her like a lifeline, seeking comfort in her own grasp.

“I’ll be back soon, darling. I promise.” She kissed the top of Eden’s head. “I’ll call and Skype every day. It’ll be like I never left.”

“That’s a l-lie.”

“It won’t be so bad. You’ll hardly even notice me not here. And besides, I’ll be back in no time.”

“When do you leave?” Eden looked up at Natasha, her grey eyes big and sad, faint traces of irritated redness lingered from her tears.

“I leave tomorrow morning.”

Another strangled cry slipped from Eden’s lips and she once more buried her face into Natasha’s shirt. Natasha kissed her head and continued to hold her, her own sadness and worry keeping her letting her go. They held each other throughout the night, eventually moving to Nat’s bed when it started getting late. That night, for the first time in a while, Natasha couldn’t sleep. Eden held her tightly, curling up to her, pressed up against her side, and had eventually cried herself to sleep. Natasha ran her fingers through Eden’s hair while her other hand gripped Eden’s.

This wasn’t her first mission, far from it actually, and she was never scared to leave. In some cases, she looked forward to going, but the thought of leaving Eden…something about that scared her. Seeing her soft sweet face red and blotchy from crying hurt her more than a bullet wound. A soft whimper sounded from the woman next to her and Natasha turned her head. Eden stirred beside her, swinging her leg over Nat’s, her head moving to lay on her chest, her arm slinking over her waist and her other arm holding onto her arm. She rolled onto her side and nuzzled her face against Natasha’s left breast, whimper more in her sleep, small tears escaping from under her eyes.

Natasha looked over at the clock on the table beside her bed. 5:00. She would be leaving soon. Eden’s grip on Natasha’s body tightened, as if she was aware of the time and when she was leaving. She turned her head and kissed her forehead all the while peeling her limbs from her body, her heart breaking even more so when Eden struggled against her and started to cry some more.

“Come on, Eden. I need to go,” she whispered, kissing her head again and using some more force.

“No…” she mumbled, her body waking and her tears coming more.

“Eden, please.” Natasha sat up, taking Eden with her. Eden woke up and looked at Natasha with large sleepy grey eyes filled with tears. “I promise you that I’ll come back. And we’ll lay on the couch together watching those cheesy romantic comedies that you love so much. We’ll order so much take out and eat so much that we’ll get sick and never want to eat again.” Eden laughed, though she was still crying. “And I won’t leave you. I’ll have Steve not give me another mission for a while. We’ll be together, Eden. I promise.”

Eden just looked at her, her eyes drifting down to her neck, still shining with sadness, but she loosened her grip on Natasha’s body. She let her arms fall slack into her lap and crossed her legs under her. Natasha gave her a gentle kiss, but Eden didn’t return it. Instead she muffled her cries and turned from her, leaving the room.

When Natasha emerged from her room and into the sitting room, she walked over to Eden who sat on the couch, her hands clasped together and her arms resting on her thighs. Natasha bent down and kissed her head, taking her hand in hers, kissing the knuckles.

“It’ll be over before you know it,” she whispered, lifting her chin to look at her. Kissing her once more, Natasha sat beside her. “I have to go, love. I’ll call.”

“Promise?”

“Yeah, babe. I promise.”

Eden nodded and stood up from the couch, pulling Natasha up with her and wrapped her arms in a tight hug, her face resting in the crook of her neck, her arms reaching up to circle around her head and her fingers tangling in her hair. She inhaled a deep breath, catching her scent and steadied herself.

“You better come back to me otherwise I’ll come and find you, and I swear to God, Nat, I’ll kill you where you stand,” she said in a low voice like a whisper that she tried to keep strong, but wavered just the slightest. Natasha chuckled and kissed her temple.

“The Black Widow doesn’t go down so easily, Eden.”

○○○

The months ran long. Just as she suspected, Natasha’s mission ran for six months. It was a tracking mission, and the HYDRA scientist they were looking for was very elusive. But like she promised, Natasha talked to Eden every day, either by phone or Skype, and every day Eden cried herself to sleep in Natasha’s bed cuddling up to Nat’s pillow that still held her scent.

When the day came for the redhead to come home, she drove to the Tower and waited on the tarmac for them along with some other agents, Wanda, Rhodey, and Bruce. Tony had stayed behind but kept to his lab. Eden bit her fingernails, waiting anxiously for the Quinjet to land and deliver her the woman she loved.

The Quinjet landed a few minutes later and Eden started bouncing on her heels in excitement and anticipation. The hatch opened and Steve, Sam, and Natasha exited, carrying duffle bags of gear and equipment, and Nat’s eyes immediately fell to Eden’s. A great big grin spread across Eden’s face when she saw the redhead, and her grey eyes filled with tears. Natasha smiled, dropped the bags she was holding and opened her arms. Eden laughed as she cried and ran to her, leaping into her open and waiting arms, nuzzling into her neck and kissing her neck and squeezing her tight. Natasha returned her squeeze, laughed, and kissed her temple. Her smile hurt her face and the tears stung her eyes, but all that mattered was that she was home and holding this beautifully sweet creature in her arms.

“I’m so glad you’re home,” Eden cried.

“Me too, baby. Me too.”

“Can we go home now?” Eden asked, peeling her head away from Natasha’s neck and looking in her eyes. Natasha smiled and kissed her nose.

“Yeah, baby girl, we can go home.”

The entered the tower and stopped at Nat’s room, allowing her time to shower and change, the whole time, Eden never left her side. When they were finished, they left the Tower and Eden drove them both to Nat’s apartment. They held hands in the car, and every so often, the two shared looks, heated and charged with passion and love and lust, and throughout the entire ride, Natasha’s fingers lightly roamed Eden’s body.

She parked the car and they both sat for longer than necessary, just gazing into each other’s eyes. Eden cupped the redhead’s cheek and kissed her. The kiss started out slow and loving, the tears on the two women dripped on their faces, and it soon grew hot and passionate. Their tongues slipped into the other’s mouths and fought each other for dominance. Eden gripped Natasha tight and pulled her from her seat and onto her lap, shoving her hands to her face and around her head into her hair.

Natasha moaned and bit Eden’s bottom lip as her hands touched her arms, her waist, her breasts. Eden bucked her hips up into Natasha and hummed into the kiss. When they broke apart, Eden let her hands fall down her body and gripped Natasha’s ass, squeezing the flesh of her cheeks through her pants. Natasha looked down at her, eyes dark, and moaned as Eden massaged her slowly.

“We should leave,” she whispered. Natasha nodded and climbed off her and back into her seat before the two of them exited the car and up to Nat’s apartment.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Heavy Smut

Natasha dragged Eden into her apartment, slamming her against the wall as she pressed her lips to hers, catching her by surprise. Her hands traveled across her body, moving from her arms to her hips and up to her breasts, grasping each round piece of flesh in her hands and groping soft.

Eden moaned into the kiss and she arched her back, pressing herself closer to Natasha, and wrapped her arms around the back of her neck. Her nipples hardened under the fabric of her shirt and her bra, reacting to the feeling of the combination of Natasha’s hands on her and her own lust building up inside her. She hissed when Natasha bit down on her lip and pulled away just the slightest, enough for Natasha to notice.

“You okay?” she breathed, pressing a chaste kiss to her cheek and moving a hand from her breast to get lost in her hair. Eden closed her eyes and nodded, arching her back again as a wave of heat flowed through her, igniting a fire inside her. She bucked her hips, eager and seeking to grind against Natasha, but whimpered when she found no such connection.

“I’m fine.” She found Nat’s lips again and reconnected them. “Put your hand back on me,” she murmured as they broke apart. Natasha complied and grasped her breast tightly, coaxing another hiss from the raven-haired woman.

Natasha broke the kiss and shifted her lips to kiss Eden’s neck. She caressed and sucked the soft flesh, leaving wet and sloppy marks along the length of her neck. Eden hummed and tilted her head to all Natasha more access.

“What do you want, Eden? Tell me what to do.”

Eden ran her fingers down Natasha’s back, stopping at the hem of her shirt, gripping it, and moved to lift it up her body. Natasha pulled away enough so Eden could pull it over her head, and her eyes locked onto Nat’s purple lacy bra. The dark plum color meshed well with her milky skin and Eden licked her lips hungrily. Reaching forward and trailing her hands and fingers over her soft skin, a shuddered breath left her. She knew how soft her skin was from when she held her hand or when they held each other on the couch, but she _never expected that she would be this soft_. Jesus Christ!

_“Fuck...”_ Eden muttered, her hands falling on Nat’s hips and wrapping around to the small of her back. Natasha chuckled and dipped her head into the crook of Eden’s neck.

“What?”

“Your skin is so soft…”

“You say that like you’ve never touched me before,” Natasha laughed, peeling her face from Eden’s neck and pecking her lips.

“I can’t marvel at my incredibly beautiful and sexy girlfriend?” Eden smiled and bit her bottom lip.

“You sure it’s marveling? Because it feels more like ogling. Which…I think I’m fine with, it makes me feel good when you look at me like that…like you’re hungry.”

Eden smiled and pushed off the wall, pressing her lips against Natasha’s in a quick kiss. Grabbing her hand, Eden pulled Natasha into her bedroom and closed the door. Natasha moved to sit on her bed, crossing her legs at the knee. Eden leaned against the door and breathed out, her cheeks slowly turning red.

“What are you still doing by the door, doll?” Natasha bit her lip suggestively, her voice lowering into a deep and sultry voice. Eden smirked and ran over to the bed, climbing on top of Natasha and kissing her again. Nat’s legs opened, creating space for Eden, and shoved her hands into her hair. Her gentle tugs created moan after moan that tumbled out of the raven-haired woman’s mouth. Eden started to move her hips against Natasha’s raised thigh and her breath hitched in her throat, causing her to pull away slightly and hummed, licking her lips.

“You have no idea what you do to me…” Eden whispered, pecking Natasha’s lips again before she slipped down her face to her neck. Natasha gasped as Eden attacked her neck and collarbone. She shifted her legs, adjusting the angle, and Eden grinded faster and harder on the new angle. “Fuck, Nat…”

“You’re so eager,” Natasha laughed, bringing Eden’s upper body closer to her for another kiss. Her hands fumbled to the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head. Immediately after she reached around and unclasped her bra, tossing it to the side, and grasped her breasts in each hand.

“Can’t help it…you’re so beautiful,” she kissed Natasha, “and amazing,” another kiss, “and so, so, so, _so_ sexy.”

“Sweet talker,” Natasha muttered, smirking against Eden’s lips, an intense wave of heat bubbling in her stomach and moving down to between her legs. She moved her leg in time with Eden’s grinds, creating more friction between them, and Eden sucked a breath in and closed her eyes tight. “You going to get off on my leg?”

“I’ll get to you in a second,” Eden said, her eyes still closed. She moved faster against Natasha’s leg and her breath shortened, coming out in short wavering gasps. Natasha smirked as Eden brought herself closer and closer to release, and kissed her again, slipping her tongue into her mouth. She fondled her breasts and lightly bit her bottom lip, pushing her headfirst over the edge and into ecstasy.

Eden cried out and clenched her hands into fists around the sheets below Natasha and by her head. She panted, chuckling under her breath when Natasha rubbed her back and kissed her cheek, praising her softly.

“You alright?” Natasha whispered; slight concern evident in her voice. Eden picked her head up, looked into Natasha’s bright green eyes, and cracked a smile. Giving her a soft and passionate kiss, Eden rolled off of Natasha and onto the mattress next to her. The kiss wasn’t like their other kisses: rough and hard and hungry. This one was slow and gentle and loving. Eden never said how she felt about Natasha, either to herself or to Nat, mostly because if she thought about it, she’d be tempted to say it out loud. She didn’t want to scare Natasha off, but at this moment, looking down at her and seeing the concern and the level with which the redhead cared for her, she felt a deep love for her.

“I’m all good.” She smiled again, giving her another soft kiss. “Now let me take care of you.”

Eden kissed her again, moving her kiss down to her cheek. Then to her neck. Then to the soft skin between the valley of her breasts. Then to each individual mound of flesh, giving ample attention to each, swirling her hardened nipple around in her mouth, enjoying the feeling of Natasha arching up into her, a soft sigh escaping her red lips. When she finished at her chest, she slipped down to her stomach, leaving a ticklish kiss right above her bellybutton. Her fingers brushed against her bullet wound, an old scar, gifted to her by the Winter Soldier so many years ago.

Reaching the waistline of her pants, Eden cast her eyes back up to look at her, silently asking her permission, and when Natasha gave a shaky nod, Eden gave a firm tug on her pants, pulling them down past her hips. Natasha arched up, allowing Eden to slide her pants down all the way, and then the same with her underwear, until she was laying naked under Eden’s watchful and lustful gaze.

Though, despite the evident lust visible in every inch of her face, Eden looked at her with such gentleness and a softer emotion that she couldn’t identify from personal experience, but had seen it enough times in both Clint and Laura to know that it was love. The look made her feel safe, which was rare for the redhead. The way she trusted Eden…was different than how she ever trusted anyone, even her own team. She wasn’t sure what she felt for Eden or if she looked at her the way Eden did, but she knew she felt something. That Eden meant more to her than anyone in her life, including Clint and his family.

Eden slipped down the bed and between her legs, leaving a trail of light butterfly kisses on the inside of her thighs, moving down her calves and stopping at her ankles, before moving back up slowly, trailing her fingers along ahead of her. Natasha was going crazy. Eden’s kiss…her touch was tantalizing, and Natasha just wanted her to stop playing with her.

“Stop teasing me…”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Eden asked, still between her legs, biting softly into the flesh of her thigh. Natasha felt Eden’s smile against her skin and she herself smiled at the sound of the black-haired woman’s smile.

Eden popped back up and once again pressed another kiss against Natasha’s swollen lips, smearing her lipstick more though none of them seemed to care. When she pulled away, Natasha marveled at the beautiful face that stared down at her, full of gentleness. “Tell me what to do, baby. I want to go at your pace.”

Nat didn’t even realize how hard her heart was beating; didn’t realize how uneasy her breathing sounded. She leaned up and connected her lips with Eden’s taking her by surprise, and when she pulled away, breaking the kiss, she gave Eden what she hoped was her most convincing smile.

“I want you…only you, doll.” Eden smiled and dipped her head. “I only ever want you.”

"I’ll be gentle I promise.”

Eden slipped back down between Natasha’s legs, placing her hands on both of her thighs and kissed her way up to her wet core. Natasha’s back arched the closer Eden got to her center.

“Do you trust me?” Eden asked.

“Completely.”

Eden trailed her fingers through her folds before they slipped inside her and curled. She waited a few seconds before she moved them slowly, in and out, in a gentle rhythm that had Natasha moaning and bucking her hips. “That feel good, baby?”

“Fuck yes…faster, Eden…”

Like the people pleaser she was—at least when it came to the beautiful redhead—she obeyed, picking up the speed of her fingers, smiling when Nat cried out in pleasure and gripped the sheets. Faster and faster her fingers got, curling just a little more each time to pleasantly scrape against her spot. Adding to her pleasure, Eden took her free hand and touched it to Natasha’s sensitive nub, jolting back when Natasha loudly gasped, her eyes opening wide and her mouth forming a silent scream.

“I-I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be,” Natasha muttered, grasping Eden’s hand to touch her again. She was grateful that her fingers kept up their consistent pace; it felt amazing when she touched her, but when Eden pulled away, a frustrating ache ran through her, and it would’ve grown had she fully pulled away. “Please…keep going. Put it back. I-I need…I-I need to feel that again.”

Eden nodded and listened, firmly pressing her finger against her nub again. Natasha groaned and writhed, grinding against Eden’s fingers. The raven-haired woman circled her finger against the sensitive bundle of nerves, and warmth flooded over Natasha. She released a wavering sigh and looked down to meet Eden’s eyes. Her desire pooled in her stomach, leaking between her legs, and Eden smiled sweetly. Hints of lust poking through, but a sweet one all the same.

“That’s a good girl, baby. You’re such a good girl.”

“Jesus Eden!”

“That’s it.”

Nat’s eyes never left Eden’s, though her face contorted as her pleasure rippled through her, lighting her on fire and spreading to her most sensitive parts. She felt each of her defenses and all of her walls break down from Eden’s touch, and the redhead wondered what made her so special that she was able to do so, seeing her in her most vulnerable self.

“You want something, baby? Tell me. Tell me what you want.”

“I-I…”

“Just say it, baby. I won’t be embarrassed.” Natasha bit her lip and closed her eyes, looking away from Eden, then with a sigh, she turned back, her cheeks a bit pink.

“I want your mouth…where your hand is.”

Eden paused, and with a mischievous glint in her eyes, she pulled her hand away from Natasha and replaced the movements of her fingers with that of her tongue. She kissed and licked and sucked, sending shockwaves through Nat that had her whole-body jolting, shaking, writhing in ecstasy; something she’s never ever felt before. She resumed pumping her fingers into her, bringing her closer to her relief. She could hear her breathing change; her moans turning into soft pleading whimper and the gasps in between quickened and sounded more like wheezes. She was close.

“You okay, baby?” Eden asked in her innocent voice, teasing Natasha with a playful smirk. “Are you close?”

“Y-Yes…God, yes!”

“I bet you want to come, don’t you?”

“Fuck, Eden, yes!”

Natasha bucked more against Eden’s body, against her fingers, against her mouth and her teeth. She shook at the sharp tingles that danced on the sensitive parts of her body, and when it became too much for her to handle, she let go, falling into oblivion, succumbing to Eden’s fingers.

When she came back down, Eden was lying next to her on the bed, holding her hand and smoothing her thumb over the surface while her other hand played with her hair. A small smile was glued to her face as she helped Natasha through her high.

“Are you okay?” Eden whispered when she figured Nat could speak again. Natasha nodded and kissed her, then their conjoined hands.

“Couldn’t be better.”

Nat smiled and brought Eden closer to her, to pull her back on top of her, hands on her hips, and rested her forehead against hers. Eden closed her eyes and breathed out, her smile stretching all the way up to her ears, her teeth peeking out. She push her hair behind her ear and smoothed her hair down, cupping her face.

“I’ve literally never been this happy before,” Eden whispered, tears pricking her eyes at the swell of love that washed over her, engulfing her and suffocating her, and she wanted to say something right then and there…but fear held her back. She wanted to wait until Natasha said it first, agreeing with herself that she would wait forever if she had to.

“Me neither.” Natasha kissed her forehead and when Eden rolled over back onto the bed, she rested her head on her chest, right above her heart, listening to the gentle rhythmic beating. Eden didn’t miss the deep breath Natasha took, and while she probably would’ve thought nothing of it, it seemed different now. It was like the kind of wavering breath one takes when they’re afraid. Eden sat up and touched Natasha’s arm, but before she could speak, Natasha copied her movements and stopped her with a kiss.

“I…I’ve never done this before or felt this with anyone. My whole life I was taught to ignore all emotions, that I should feel nothing and just focus on the mission. When I joined SHIELD, everyone was too scared to get close to me, so I was alone for a while. You aren’t the first person to get close to me, but…you definitely have gotten the closest. You mean a lot to me, Eden, and…I’ve never said this to anyone but, I…I think…” She took a deep breath, grasping on tight to her hand, anchoring herself, and Eden rubbed her arm.

“I think I know what you’re about to say, Nat, and trust me, if you aren’t ready, you do not have to say it right now. Please, I do not want you to be uncomfortable, so…don’t say it.”

“No…no I have to. We’ve had—I’ve had more than enough time, so many chances to tell you how I feel, Eden. You’ve been a bright light in an otherwise dark existence, a breath of fresh air…I guess what I’m trying to say is…how do you know when love is staring at you right in the face when killing is all you know?”

Eden froze and blinked. “Nat, what are you trying to say?”

“I love you, Eden. I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you,” Natasha whispered, her gaze soft as she stared into Eden’s watering eyes.

“You love me?”

Natasha smiled and kissed her, sweet and slow, and when they broke away, Nat leaned into her, engulfing herself in Eden’s warmth. “I love you.”

Eden chuckled and sniffled, allowing the tears to fall freely without a care. They rolled down her cheek and down her chin, dripping onto Natasha’s forehead. Natasha leaned up and kissed her cheeks, wiping away her tears off the tracks. Eden looked at her with sadness and love, and her hand came up to cup her cheek, tracing her thumb in nonsensical patterns.

“I’ve had girlfriends before, but none of them compare to you. I can’t believe how happy you make me. I love you too, Nat. So much,” she whispered in response, another tear falling from her eye and rolling down her face.

“If you tell anyone about how sweet I am—”

“Yeah, yeah I know.” Eden chuckled and wiped her face. Natasha smiled and kissed her before settling back down on Eden’s chest, closing her eyes and listening to her steady beating.

“I just want you to know, next time, I’m in charge,” Natasha whispered. Eden chuckled and draped an arm around Natasha, pulling her close.

“Whatever you say, baby.”


	15. Chapter 15

“I missed you,” Eden whispered, tracing a mindless pattern across Natasha’s bare side. Natasha chuckled and leaned up to kiss her.

“I missed you too.”

Eden looked down at her and smile. “I love you,” she whispered. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to do that.”

“I’m guessing a while,” Natasha laughed, “judging by your ferocity. You certainly were eager.” She rolled over on her stomach, rolling on top of Eden, and inched her way close to her face. She smiled and kissed her face, ending at her lips. “I love you too.”

Never before had Natasha felt this right in her life. Not in the Red Room, not at SHIELD, not with the Avengers. Eden sat up in bed, pulling the bedsheet around her naked body and brushed her hair with her fingers, her eyes glancing over at Natasha who curled up against her pillows. Eden giggled and turned around on her stomach, inching her way back up to the redhead. Natasha shook her head and laughed, opening her arms for Eden to come to her and accepted her lips in a nice short kiss.

“I love you,” Eden said, her voice barely above a whisper, more like an exhale of a breath, but Natasha somehow still heard her and nuzzled her nose against Eden’s cheek and nose, smiling.

“I have to ask you something.” Eden perked up at such an inquisition and raised an eyebrow as her smile grew.

“Oh?”

“I was wondering…since pretty much all your stuff is here, and you practically live here anyway—”

“Are you asking me to move in with you?” Eden’s face seemed to brighten as she grinned and blushed a bit.

“If you want to…you don’t have to—”

“No! I want to!” Eden shot up and climbed on top of Nat, straddling her, and kissed her fiercely, pushing her back into the bed. Natasha giggled into the kiss and stretched her hands up to trace patterns on her bare back, inching up to curl around strands of her long black hair.

As Eden kissed her harder, she bucked her hips along her body, causing Natasha to laugh against the kiss, breaking it slightly. Eden lingered close to her face, chuckling and kissing her cheek.

“You good to go again?” she whispered, dancing her fingers across Nat’s skin, teasing her entrance. Natasha squirmed and smirked, quickly shifting their weight to flip them on the bed, reversing their position. The redhead leaned down close to her and brushed her nose against her face. Eden chuckled as her red locks grazed and tickled her skin.

**Author's Note:**

> Translation:
> 
> Der'mo-shit


End file.
